A title or opening track from an album should really act as a summary or precursor for the rest of the album – it should certainly have some significance over what’s to come.
And the opener on this, ‘Cynical and Bloated’, does just that. Kind of. A guttral growl over a Slipknot-esque backing is how this album explodes into life, as the singer darkly intones something about a “24 hour Asda” with a mirrorball that’s not for sale. Then, it’s all change, as the style that the band are known for – a kind of speedy Buzzcocks-y indiepop pogo through the C86 genre – ensues. Until the death metal guitars kick in again – briefly, and then we’re back in tweepop land again. All in the space of 2 minutes.
Of course, the danger of a title track as good as that is that it may act as a dampener for the rest of the album.
Not the case for this lot. ‘No-one Knows Anything’ is, unexpectedly (since their last single if I recall rightly sounded like the Pogues), more of the same but in a good way, a tune that the aforementioned Buzzcocks would have been happy with while the BMX Bandits and Soup Dragons will be very disappointed they didn’t come up with it first. (It also discusses the possibility of transdimensional monkeys, as far as I can tell, and frankly, there’s not enough on this subject in modern pop, so hats off there). I should also mention that there’s a dint to Swell Maps here.
The album has more highs than lows for sure – ok, they sound a bit like the Fratellis on the verse of one track, but that’s a brief hiatus as ‘Britpop Girl’ winds its way through the ages: “New Metal Girl 2001, Nu Rock Girl 2003”; you get the idea, it’s an album that’s peppered with pop culture and musical references and every one raises a grin especially as each of the 14 tracks is a short and sharp tune that is full of unbridled fun. What more could you ask of an album?