Popular Workshop
Her Birthday (This Is Fake DIY)
Is this good, or what?! Discordant, guitar-based indie-punk doesn’t get much better than this, I have to say!
Wait! Tag the word ‘pop’ onto that description. Anywhere you like, it doesn’t really matter unless you’re a stickler for grammatical correctness. Why those marvellous people at the cutting edge of ‘New Music’ on national radio haven’t picked up on Popular Workshop beats the hell out of me.
OK – so it’s not ‘new’ in the sense that it’s ground breaking. But it’s ‘new’ as in ‘current.’ It’s Blur with balls, for God’s sake! (Actually, I never really liked Blur, but I do like this.)
It’s indie music that jumps the crowd barrier separating the clique of arty exclusiveness from the monotony of the mundane and easily-led, smacks both sets around the head and invites them all to one big frenzied party.
The hook of the repeated guitar riff gives this a distinct indie feel. The inflection in the spoken / sung vocals gives it a punk feel – even more so in the final twenty seconds when the tone changes to a more squealed sound. And overall, the almost Albarn-esque delivery gives ‘Her Birthday’ a universally acceptable ‘pop’ sensibility.
‘B-side,’ ‘Electronic Renaissance’ was written by indie stalwarts, Belle & Sebastian. To be honest, I’ve never listened to much of their work and certainly not this particular track, but I’m willing to bet this version has a bit more zest and zeal than the original. It has a bit of a throwback sound to it, with perhaps some Joy Division influences shining through. The prominent bass lines are complimented by some intricate yet understated guitar work and low-key vocals that border on the mono-toned, almost disinterested sound prevalent in the sounds from Manchester in the late Eighties / early Nineties. It works though.
Colin Jackson
