The Last Significant Statement To Be Made In Rock 'n' Roll
“This is the last significant statement to be made in rock n’roll” enthuses Simon Indelicate with the passion, vigour and belief that makes you certain that he’s totally correct. The Indelicates are poets at heart and their tunes mix florid and ebuillent language with cutting sentiments to fine effect on their fantastic debut. ‘American Demo’ blows away all the indie bands claiming to make a difference and say something that counts; this is one of the only records this decade that really deserves to count.
The album flows over with variety of sound, ‘Sixteen’ recalls the straight-from-the-street storytelling of The Long Blondes mixed with the falsetto flavourings of The Pipettes but with a drive and awesome beauty that overtakes the listener and moves them to pull on their best dancing shoes. ‘Julia, We Don’t Live in the 60’s’ is a slice of sensational powerful pop with fills you will bounding optimism as Simon asserts, “We never had it so good; life is sweet”. The wonderful thing about The Indelicates is that just when you didn’t think you could fall in love with them anymore, they throw in another charming little reference that arouses another smile, “Like Romeo and Juliet/In a bunker, shot through the head,” sighs Julia in, ‘Unity Mitford’, while ‘Our Daughters Will Never Be Free’is a biting disco critique of the betrayal of feminism, “But the women back then were extremists the lot/I'm have control of my gender, my sex/Every whore that I've heard of is free of regret”. It’s possibility the sassiest and smartest feminist anthem out there right now.
‘We Hate The Kids’ is another smart tale of the way it is, “Useless children genuflecting/To the idols who exploit them/Open mouthed and arsed expecting/Some god to anoint them/Dance Dance Dance to this radio tonight”; really the use of the word, “genuflecting” alone deserves some kind of supreme recognition. It might not win them a Brit Award, but it’s just one of many ways in which The Indelicates are not your ordinary band and are all the better for it.
‘Stars’ is a dramatic affair with chugging violins and scrabbling guitars signing off the 4 minutes of divine beauty, never has the sparkling had so much gravitas and poise as beneath Julia’s quivering lyrics. The skipping piano of ‘Unity Mitford’ is equally as commanding, lilting before a vibrant guitar solo kicks in. The band’s mastery of both their instruments and writing with poise and elegance and wild desire is what sets them apart from other groups. ‘New Art For The People’ is perhaps the best representation of it; it has always been one of the group’s most gripping and inspiring songs with its dark longings, “I followed your perfume as you ran down the street”, delicious intertwining vocal strands and crescendo that leaves you gasping for breath. Then, just lyrics mix the playful, “This scene is the scene to be seen in”, with the grandiose, the music mixes beautiful instrumental sections with rip-roaring rock such as in, ‘America’, a sly appraisal of the values of Britain and America that blusters along on a rampant rock rage with skittering piano chords and fierce percussion.
If there were a record to sum up the general feeling on the streets in the year 2008, then The Indelicates would represent it, albeit a wonderfully romanticised version. Cast away your false idols and listens to something that expresses itself with artistic grace and acerbic wit.