It is so refreshing these days to hear a band just doing their own thing and not be tempted to follow the trend of nauseating cheeky, cheery, chirpy indie- pop. This excellent debut album from Glasgow- based band Correcto is in the main bouncy and upbeat, but draws on influences from another era rather than irritations from the present.
All songs are written by Danny Saunders, who cites ‘all the good stuff’ like The Kinks, Eno, Ramones, Modern Lovers amongst his influences. I guess all songwriters are influenced to a certain extent – it would be impossible not to be – but the clever bit is to add that bit of individuality, which marks the song as an original. And Danny / Correcto have managed that with this excellent debut album.
Many tracks have the feel of stripped-back seventies Punk (you know ‘all the good stuff’) and with twelve tracks in just under thirty-one minutes even the ethos of making a record some thirty years ago is prevalent. Tracks like current single ‘Do It Better’ have distant echoes of The Buzzcocks- especially so in the chorus. Opening track ‘Inuit’ races along with off-kilter guitar and Danny’s snarling vocals.
Likewise, ‘No One Under 30’ has Danny leering his way through one and a half minutes like a more tuneful Johnny Rotten. ‘Here it Comes’ hints at The Modern Lovers. ‘Something Or Nothing,’ with its discordant female- sounding backing vocals, starts in the same vein (and not unlike The Royal We) before dropping pace for the second half.
‘Correcto’ the album, however, is much more than merely a backwards glance to the era of zips, pins and spit. ( sigh -happy days.) The first single to be taken from the album, ‘Joni,’ merited a lot more airplay than it received. Had it done so, it would surely have been regarded as a bit of an Indie classic, what with its jangly guitar and hooky chorus. Similarly, ‘Downs’ which would surely have the dance-floor filled at any Indie Club Night. ‘Save Your Sorrow,’ eases down on the pace and starts out sounding a bit early Bowie-esque, and ending in a vitriolic sneer. (Lyrically, any song opening with the words, ‘Jesus thinks you’re ugly, and you’re gobby too…………so save your sorrow unless you’re stupid too’ just has to be a winner!) ‘Walking To Town’ continues in a more laid-back fashion. Dreamy almost, though lyrics like ‘…so fuck you, but mostly I like you’ when used in such a dulcet context both add to the impact of the song, and startle the listener awake. ‘Even Though’ is probably the quietest track on the album. Lou Reed springs to mind, though I doubt he’d be name-checking Radio Clyde in any of his lyrics! ‘New Capitals’ is almost folky in feel with acoustic guitar, mandolin and whistling to the fore. Again, as with all tracks there is a hooky chorus that will ingrain in the brain. Final track ‘When You Get Away From Me’ is a slow-burner, sounding pretty serious and heavy, but also sounding like a rather depressed Saturday night drunk singing his woes to the queue outside the cinema!
All in all, this is a truly excellent album, with Danny’s vocals sounding different on each track. There is also enough humour in the lyrics and variation in the styles and pace of the songs to hold the listener’s attention right to the end.
(Correcto are Danny Saunders (vocals and guitar); Richard Wright (guitar); Patrick Doyle (Sexy Kids and ex The Royal We) and Paul Thomson from Franz Ferdinand on drums.)