There is nothing I find more attractive than the eloquence of a well crafted lyric or a humorous turn of phrase that hides a more poignant message. I’m a bit of a sucker for a seemingly nonchalant delivery, that throwaway attitude towards the words, as if Oscar Wilde were still with us but had moved with the times and swapped playwriting for fronting an indie band. Well, on hearing this track I feel like all of my Christmases have come at once. A band with something to say over and above the sadly dominant clichés of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy tries to wonder what the hell went wrong. A band that understand that the message is as important as the music, more so even. A band that can satirically hit where it hurts.
Anyone who comes up with “if these kids were given discipline, they wouldn’t be on mescalin” is going to rank highly in my book and although there is a less jangly Smiths vibe to the song, on further spins and closer examination it sounds like a far less punchable Morrissey fronting Sebastopol, but still with enough musical personality to stand on it’s own two feet.
I love it when music seems to drop in your lap out of the blue and make you wonder why you have only just found them. Do The Rosenberg Appeal? They certainly do.
You ever seen this band live? If not – if you think this song is good, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to know that you ain’t heard nothing yet. Can’t wait to get my hands on their new recordings!