gunsella
06-03-2006, 10:26 PM
I really wanted to hate this album. I first heard about Stars of CCTV from the back page advertisement of a Q magazine. The quotes had already given it the kiss of death in my mind: “Best album of 2005” – Mojo; “Next Big Thing” – Uncut Magazine. The last time I heard rhetoric like this I was compelled to go and see Franz Ferdinand in concert – I left after 5 songs, I was so unimpressed.
So I thought I’d obtain a copy and see if all the fuss was justified. I am trying so hard to get bored with this album – I have listened to it many times but it is still delivering. It is full of hooks, great melodies, fantastic beats and a cool underlying white-boy reggae feel. And when I think of white-boy reggae I am thinking of The Clash, not UB40.
Album opener “Cash Machine” sets the tone for this modern pop-rock opus, both musically and lyrically. It begins with the dubby sounds of a melodica and bass line. Then the drums and guitars kick in and you are reminded that it is indeed the 21st century. The production is full and tasty. It is not afraid to sound polished instead of the underproduced chic found on an early Strokes album or two.
They don’t wait long for the first of this album’s hooks, heading for the first chorus immediately after the first verse instead of following the “double verse, single chorus” format made so popular by Messrs Lennon and McCartney. And it is a sentiment we can all identify with – working for the cash machine. The second verse continues in this vein:
I tried to phone a friend/
My credit’s in the red
I tried to skip the fare/
Ticket inspector’s there.
And the closing refrain of “There’s a Hole in My Pocket” just rounds out the cute portrait of middle class poverty painted by this song.
Track 3 “Tied Up Too Tight” has single written all over it. The chorus begins with “na-na-na-na-na”. This is only marginally less catchy than Blur’s “Woo-hoo” from “Song no. 2.” This song delivers on the musical front. It has a great rock beat, a sparse bass line that makes you wanna groove, a smooth arpeggiated guitar part and the hookiest chorus this side of ABBA. There’s even a rocking guitar solo in there, superbly positioned just after the breakdown, which is after the second chorus. These guys have done their homework.
“Hard To Beat” follows the template set early in this album. But this time it is the guitar part that is sparse and the bass line that fills in the empty spaces. It makes a great contrast when during the pre-chorus the bass disappears. Lyrically it also fits in with the tales of suburbia that are found across this album. This is a song simply about liking a girl and following through. Handclaps (the new cowbell!) are present in the breakdown. How can one not like this?
“Unnecessary Trouble” is like the lovechild of the above-mentioned songs – big chorus, a “woah woah woah” hook, and a nice rock-reggae groove. Plus, we now have a horn section. This is a band that knows exactly how to achieve the sound that they hear in their collective minds (or they have a great producer).
Track 7 finally sees us arrive at the obligatory slow piano song – “Move On Now.” The chords for this song are unimaginative but I feel that I can let them off the hook in this case. The lyrics are a simple yet affecting suggestion to a significant other that this relationship is over. The melody is beautiful - singer Richard Archer really can hit those high notes. If I were to hear this song disconnected from the rest of the album I would write this band off as Coldplay wannabes. But Hard-Fi have a ‘cool-as-fuck’ swagger that Chris Martin and Co. will never get close to. The second half of the song has light percussion accompaniment, a brief muted trumpet solo, and a few dub sounds – just to remind us that this is NOT Coldplay.
“Better Do Better” is surely another single. It is the song that owes the biggest debt to The Clash and to U2. Eh?? That’s right. The chorus has international hit single written all over it, but the verse is more of that white-boy reggae. What a great contrast. Okay, maybe this song is overproduced, perhaps the string section in the chorus is overkill but you can’t argue when a song gets stuck in your head for a week.
The final two songs on the album are not disappointing, as can so often be the case. Living for the Weekend and Stars of CCTV are telling it like it is in urban England. They are rock’s boozier answer to The Streets. I think that saving the title track until last is a great touch, a nice way to finish a superb pop album. The acoustically driven Stars of CCTV makes light of disappearing civil liberties:
We’re the stars of CCTV/
Making movies out on the street
Fashion, blue lights, camera action/
Watching my life, main attraction
We’re the stars of CCTV/
Can’t you see the camera loves me
All in all, Stars of CCTV is a well-written and well-executed, modern pop album. Hard-Fi have a multi-faceted yet unified sound that I am yet to find boring. The band members are capable musicians, and they don’t let that get in the way of quality pop music. There is very little filler here, I only hope that their difficult second album does not prove to be their undoing.
So I thought I’d obtain a copy and see if all the fuss was justified. I am trying so hard to get bored with this album – I have listened to it many times but it is still delivering. It is full of hooks, great melodies, fantastic beats and a cool underlying white-boy reggae feel. And when I think of white-boy reggae I am thinking of The Clash, not UB40.
Album opener “Cash Machine” sets the tone for this modern pop-rock opus, both musically and lyrically. It begins with the dubby sounds of a melodica and bass line. Then the drums and guitars kick in and you are reminded that it is indeed the 21st century. The production is full and tasty. It is not afraid to sound polished instead of the underproduced chic found on an early Strokes album or two.
They don’t wait long for the first of this album’s hooks, heading for the first chorus immediately after the first verse instead of following the “double verse, single chorus” format made so popular by Messrs Lennon and McCartney. And it is a sentiment we can all identify with – working for the cash machine. The second verse continues in this vein:
I tried to phone a friend/
My credit’s in the red
I tried to skip the fare/
Ticket inspector’s there.
And the closing refrain of “There’s a Hole in My Pocket” just rounds out the cute portrait of middle class poverty painted by this song.
Track 3 “Tied Up Too Tight” has single written all over it. The chorus begins with “na-na-na-na-na”. This is only marginally less catchy than Blur’s “Woo-hoo” from “Song no. 2.” This song delivers on the musical front. It has a great rock beat, a sparse bass line that makes you wanna groove, a smooth arpeggiated guitar part and the hookiest chorus this side of ABBA. There’s even a rocking guitar solo in there, superbly positioned just after the breakdown, which is after the second chorus. These guys have done their homework.
“Hard To Beat” follows the template set early in this album. But this time it is the guitar part that is sparse and the bass line that fills in the empty spaces. It makes a great contrast when during the pre-chorus the bass disappears. Lyrically it also fits in with the tales of suburbia that are found across this album. This is a song simply about liking a girl and following through. Handclaps (the new cowbell!) are present in the breakdown. How can one not like this?
“Unnecessary Trouble” is like the lovechild of the above-mentioned songs – big chorus, a “woah woah woah” hook, and a nice rock-reggae groove. Plus, we now have a horn section. This is a band that knows exactly how to achieve the sound that they hear in their collective minds (or they have a great producer).
Track 7 finally sees us arrive at the obligatory slow piano song – “Move On Now.” The chords for this song are unimaginative but I feel that I can let them off the hook in this case. The lyrics are a simple yet affecting suggestion to a significant other that this relationship is over. The melody is beautiful - singer Richard Archer really can hit those high notes. If I were to hear this song disconnected from the rest of the album I would write this band off as Coldplay wannabes. But Hard-Fi have a ‘cool-as-fuck’ swagger that Chris Martin and Co. will never get close to. The second half of the song has light percussion accompaniment, a brief muted trumpet solo, and a few dub sounds – just to remind us that this is NOT Coldplay.
“Better Do Better” is surely another single. It is the song that owes the biggest debt to The Clash and to U2. Eh?? That’s right. The chorus has international hit single written all over it, but the verse is more of that white-boy reggae. What a great contrast. Okay, maybe this song is overproduced, perhaps the string section in the chorus is overkill but you can’t argue when a song gets stuck in your head for a week.
The final two songs on the album are not disappointing, as can so often be the case. Living for the Weekend and Stars of CCTV are telling it like it is in urban England. They are rock’s boozier answer to The Streets. I think that saving the title track until last is a great touch, a nice way to finish a superb pop album. The acoustically driven Stars of CCTV makes light of disappearing civil liberties:
We’re the stars of CCTV/
Making movies out on the street
Fashion, blue lights, camera action/
Watching my life, main attraction
We’re the stars of CCTV/
Can’t you see the camera loves me
All in all, Stars of CCTV is a well-written and well-executed, modern pop album. Hard-Fi have a multi-faceted yet unified sound that I am yet to find boring. The band members are capable musicians, and they don’t let that get in the way of quality pop music. There is very little filler here, I only hope that their difficult second album does not prove to be their undoing.