Viva Brother - Famous First Words

I wasn’t going to bother writing about Famous First Words, the debut from the world’s finest (and only) ‘gritpop’ outfit Viva Brother, but after reading some of the rather spiteful reviews thought I’d offer my own two pennies.

And if you’re reading this and in the band, there’s good and bad news: the Independent, Guardian, Pitchfork, musicOMH, and NME may think your album’s rubbish – but I think it’s alright. Pretty good, in fact. And surely the approval of A Knight’s Tale is worth more than that of some of the largest news organisations in the world?

There seem to be a few recurring criticisms levelled at the release:

1. Viva Brother are musically and lyrically simple, and artistically bereft

I don’t really know what people were expecting here – Kid A Part II? If you listen to Famous First Words expecting atmospheric soundscapes, Byronic poetry and an all-encompassing theme on the meaning of life, you will be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you listen to Famous First Words expecting catchy, addictive pop songs that you’ll be humming all week, you’ll be going home very pleased.

They are not The Horrors. They are not The XX. They are never going to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. But unlike both of those great bands, they write songs which you will sing along to at three in the morning, arm round your mates, beer in hand, generally being massive, cringe worthy ‘lads’. It’s simple, but good fun. Take it for what it is.

2. Viva Brother changed their name from Brother

One of the more absurd reasons for mockery seems to be the band name, and the court case that led it to being changed. This is mentioned in nearly every review. Who cares? 

 

3. Viva Brother are shamelessly ripping off Britpop

If you hired a crack team of the world’s best lawyers, with a bribed and hypnotised jury and the singer’s mum as judge, this claim still couldn’t be denied. Every song borrows heavily from Oasis, Blur, The Stone Roses, Suede, Supergrass and many others – but the way some reviewers go on about it, you’d think Viva Brother are the first ever band to imitate influences.

Referring again to point 1 – if you listen to this record expecting genre-breaking originality and a musical revolution, you are going to be disappointed. But criticising it for mimicking a genre which in the first place shamelessly ripped off The Beatles, T. Rex, The Rolling Stones and The Smiths seems a bit harsh.

Apparently, it’s okay to sound like the 1970s or 1980s – because it’s fashionable, you see – but not the 1990s.

4. Members of Viva Brother used to be in 'emo' bands

Again – who cares?

5. Members of Viva Brother annoyingly try too hard

“It’s time for a proper band with some bollocks”, “we’ve written some of the best songs of the past 20 years” – yes, they probably are getting a bit carried away without realising how silly they sound. Yes, ‘gritpop’ is an absolutely ridiculous, embarrassing term which – quite understandably really – still gets used against them.

However, the key here, following on from all the other points above, is to listen to the music without letting the daft interviews, band name, overhyping and silly sunglasses cloud your judgement. And if you can do that, you actually find a decent album...

Singles Darling Buds of May, Still Here, New Year’s Day and the forthcoming Time Machine are amongst the best guitar-pop songs released this year – well-structured, addictively hooky, memorable and whilst not exactly lyrically deep, the words complement the music and fit in very well.

Electric Daydream and High Street Low Lives could have come straight off The Great Escape or Modern Life Is Rubbish, and this is meant as a great compliment. Unoriginal, yes, but up there with the best of what they are copying.

There are few genuinely weak points on this ten-track album – David falls short of the songs either side of it, and Otherside, Fly By Nights and False Alarm are individually decent-if-not-great tracks, but listened together do sound too similar. This is probably my main criticism of the album – I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with sticking to the same genre, but branching out within that genre could have helped Brother here. Each song fulfils its quota of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, and choruses could easily be interchanged between songs without anyone noticing.

Still – once you get over the prejudices, some of which the band created, some of which they didn’t, this album consists of ten tracks of catchy, fun pop. It’s nothing special – did anyone really expect it to be? – but it’s nowhere near as bad as some have made out. It is what it is... 7.5/10

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The Horrors - Skying

When The Horrors first surfaced five years ago, dressed like Victorian prostitutes with haircuts that contained their own ecosystem of insects and small birds, not many people took them seriously. Tracks like Count in Fives and Gloves filled dancefloors, and their debut Strange House was pleasant enough in a novelty kind of way, but many saw these winklepickered Vince Noirs as barely a step above other gimmick abusers like The Darkness or Towers of London.

Second album Primary Colours changed that. Gone were the comic-gothic imagery, morbid monikers and Screaming Lord Sutch covers, and in came the unique new sound that Noel Fielding’s Rudi himself was searching for. Reviewers ran out of words to praise a record which provided innovative, atmospheric brilliance not seen from many mainstream artists other than Radiohead.

Can Skying continue the upward curve, and what direction does it take?

Changing the Rain

I doubt anyone expected a start like this – a woozy baggy haze straight from the early 90s. An addictive rhythm to which you can just imagine Bez shaking his maracas leads to a big, summery chorus which hooks you in instantly. Thirty seconds in and The Horrors have already added another weapon to their songwriting arsenal. 9/10

You Said

A vocal-driven track which echoes various 1980s influences, this track runs on slowly but builds subtly with emotion. Like other Horrors songs, difficult to pinpoint as either ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ but manages to display both emotions very well, with some addictive melodies. 8.5/10

I Can See Through You

Faris Badwan’s unique voice, with all its quirks and imperfections, contrasts perfectly with a driving synth riff which provides a raw, dark energy not really heard since the debut. 8.5/10

Endless Blue

A gloomy, instrumental intro which threatens to break at least eight times until it finally does a minute-and-forty in, when a heavy guitar riff kicks in and “everyone, seems so far away” rings around. Probably the most ‘rock’ song on the album, it goes on a bit too long, but whilst it ends up sounding a bit subdued recorded, it will be brilliant live. 7.5/10

Dive In

An intro identical to Brother’s New Years Day, but you won’t be surprised to discover that that is where the similarities to Slough’s finest end. The verses sound like an early Stone Roses’ b-side, and the baggy theme continues throughout the track. A weak, dragging chorus lets it down, which is refrained rather dourly at the end of the track. 6/10

Still Life

The first single, and a strong one. A relaxed rhythm and Gary Numan synths build to a powerful chorus, with the track remaining comfortable in its slow pace in a way that is unlike anything else likely to be released this year. Unexpectedly melodic, smooth vocals. 8.5/10

Wild Eyed

More nods to Madchester with the shortest track on the album, with whispered Ian Brown-esque vocals lazing over a simple repetitive rhythm. A quasi horn-section that Primal Scream would be proud of closes the track. Takes you right back to the Hacienda in 1989, unless of course – like both myself and The Horrors – you were preoccupied with trying not to wet your nappy. 9/10

Moving Further Away

Like an electronic I Am the Resurrection, The first half of this eight-and-a-half minute track runs in normal fashion – although in this case in a very prog-rock manner, with slow refrains of “everybody’s moving further away” over a lively electronic rhythm – before becoming a jam of samples and textures fading into each other. Interesting to listen to, if only to see what’s going to happen next, the track ends with a hazy, repeating vocal over a rhythm which seems to have been building up the entire track. Everything seems to follow naturally, and it’s very impressive. 8/10

Monica Gems

All glam guitars from the start, Rhys Webb claims to have been inspired by 60s pop when writing this track. This is unfortunately slightly optimistic – we know from the Strange House that they have no trouble writing catchy, guitar-driven pop, so this is a bit of a let-down. The sound is stuck in between the first and second albums, as if they couldn’t make their minds up whether to write an instant single or a more experimental, brooding track, and ended up failing to create either. Echoes of Suede. 7/10

Oceans Burning

The first five minutes of the album closer consists of a beautiful ballad which grows and grows with each listen, and another track which Faris Badwan pulls off perfectly. It’s incredible to believe that in a previous life he was Faris Rotter, screeching out Sheena Is a Parasite, but he has adapted and uses his voice’s qualities perfectly when delivering each track. Continuing the incongruous theme of the album, the ending is driven by a heady drum beat with obscured vocals and samples which again somehow manages to sound like a natural extension of the magnificent beginning. 9.5/10

Summary

Influences from all over the musical spectrum are tipped into The Horrors’ cauldron here, producing generally magical results. There are a couple of low points, but these don’t distract from what is another inspirational album. Unlike many bands in the Youtube era, The Horrors write music with an entire album in mind rather than track-by-track, and this tells. Whilst each track is different, sometimes very dramatically, it flows perfectly and the album as a whole equates to even greater than the sum of its very impressive parts. 9/10