Fitting In With The Scene
Apparently the nation is currently gripped by the joy of New Rave (well, so a certain music publication would have us believe). It was only a matter of time then until a track cropped up on the radar which referenced drugs and it comes from a band appropriately called The Young Offenders Institute, a four piece who hail from the North of Manchester. So, everything is all nicely cut and packaged then; we have a band with a name that suggests danger and illegal activities and we have a song that references a drug that was often associated with the rave scene before it acquired its 'New' nametag. What more could you want? Well, quite a lot actually.
'Stitched Up By The Acid Man' tries too hard to sound raw and 'street' using every trick to stir controversy but ultimately losing the battle. We have the disgruntled voice of today's 'youf' heralding the opening of the track as a kids choir sings so sweetly about how the acid man has ripped them off and how pointless life is before lead singer JP's thick Mancunian accent breaks through for the verses, sounding more like Happy Monday's Shaun Ryder than the man himself. On top of this, 'Stitched Up By The Acid Man' starts to resemble The Shamen's 1992 hit, 'Ebeneezeer Goode', a song I thought I'd erased from my memory but ended up having to fight the urge to chirp in with "Anyone got any Vera's?" along with The Young Offenders Institute own lyrics.
Seemingly gimmick driven and made to fit a so called scene, 'Stitched Up By The Acid Man' fails to show the talents of the Manchester quartet, a task better accomplished with the addition of 'Strange' on the single. Perhaps it's time for TYOI to hang up their glow sticks.