Annoyingly Infectious
A novelty jaunt about revolutionary sailors is probably the best way to describe this single, the first from Morton Valence's Me and Home James album, which has been well-received by this website in particular.
This is a re-release, the original featured more seagulls. Four years onward, and not a huge amount has changed. It' still got the quirky, unrelenting electronics metronoming in the background, while singer Rob tries to convince us that they're sailors demanding heroes, wine and revolution.
The electronic sweeps and the vocals do invoke traces of Bowie, if the legend was a fan of hallucinogens (*googles Alvin Stardust* oh,) but, although the band are Londoners, there's more of a Northern twang to them. There's a danger that because of the lolloping nature of the track, it would be used as the amusing end of mixtape/DJ set fodder by people, and that would be a real shame.
I think there could be a lot of versatility within the song. The basic structure of it lends itself well to anything from a slowed-down waltz to a sprinting dubstep track. Maybe even a sea shanty. That utility is present on their album, with Sailors being something of the Black Sheep of their second LP.
This is not a song that deals with deep emotional themes and world events. It's also not throwaway in any sense of the word. It's shallow, but strong, keeping your attention for the full three minutes. You're not likely to forget it in a hurry but it has the potential to be one of the most annoyingly infectious songs in a long time.