Rock music has, to a certain degree, found its final, perfect form. Yes, it occasionally gets subjected to certain make-overs or experiments, is spliced with other genres or given a new, fresher image, but what rock and roll is really about, what lies at its heart never changes. Other musical genres might go through identity crises, try to pander to the latest fad or fashion, but rock has always known what it is about. Groove and grunt. Big riffs and bigger beats. Energy and attitude. Swagger and sonic impact. And Mr Anyone has all of this and more.
Posh are a band with real punch and on this latest release, they blend the traditions of the classic end of the rock spectrum with the more contemporary trappings of the alternative sound. But there is more than just the rock going into the mix. The whole thing has the same addictions and sing-along vibe that is often more associated with pop music, as well as no small about of indie cool and outsider vibes.
But that is the art of it, isn’t it? Take the solid musical platform that history affords you and then use that to build a sound in keeping with the modern age. And Posh do just that. For every familiar move, there is a fresh and exciting groove, for every nod to the past, there is a glance to the future, all the while they trade the past glories of rock and roll for the potential of what might follow, building bridges between what was and what is yet to come.
That’s enough in-depth analysis, at the end of the day, most people just want a cool song to lose themselves in, and Mr Anyone is perfect for that. It runs along on some straightforward but perfectly grounding beats and relentless bass onslaughts, over which guitars fire off raw-edged, rhythmic salvos and deliver sky-searing crescendoes. The vocals then dance deftly along above it all, the perfect top note and the sound of a wonderfully, slightly world-weary narrator.
Put it all together and you get a thoroughly infectious song, real anthemic, foot-on-the-monitor, stadium-ready rock that invites the listener to sing along, punch the air and generally engage with its heaviness and harmony, its grooves and moves, its excess and accessibility.
Mr Anyone is everything you expect from a modern-day rock song. It moves with the times but knows where it has come from. And, as well as knowing what it is about, perhaps more importantly, it knows where it is going. And you should always know where you are going.
