This eponymous debut album from Brighton five-piece, Shrag is certainly within the top ten albums I have listened to in 2008.
The album runs to twelve tracks lasting a little over thirty-eight minutes and includes the five previously released vinyl singles and as such is an effective tome documenting the ‘story so far.’ With only one ‘down-tempo,’ song – final track ‘Hopelessly Wasted,’ – this is a bouncy, fun, highly danceable mix of artrock, pop and disco punk.
The vocals are, in the main provided by Helen, Leigh-Anne and Stephanie, with Bob and Russell concentrating on the bass and guitar. For the most part the singing is yelped and chanted and sometimes just simply spoken with a rap-like resonance, which although admittedly has been done before has never sounded quite so vibrant. At times there is an almost child-like, school-playground, spiteful sound to the Southern England accented delivery in which the letter ‘T,’ is regularly dropped in the pronunciation.
A strong marker is placed right at the outset with opening track, ‘Pregnancy Scene,’ with its infectious guitar riff, yelped vocals and handclaps. ‘Different Glue,’ is more frantic than most of the other songs and along with ‘Intelligent Theft,’ and ‘Cupboard Love,’ which have the vocals slightly echoed and with the keyboards taking a more prominent role – particularly during the latter – there is a similarity to the sound of You Say Party! We Say Die! That can only be good!
There is also a wicked sense of humour shining through, and no more so than in ‘Talk To The Left,’ which although has a deep, dark bass line running through, is lightened by the spoken vocals in the form of a girl telling her boyfriend that he talks too much during sex!
If there’s any justice in this world, then ‘Shrag,’ will see Shrag establish themselves as one of UK’s most innovative and entertaining bands of 2009.