Imagine, if you will, Dr. Moreau gets it into his devious mind he just has to create an energetic English indie music hybrid. He digs the Arctic Monkeys — being English and all — so he bundles them up in a burlap sack and secrets them away to his island. Then, he realizes it’d be mighty sweet if he added a bid of Brummie-style swagger, so he shanghais Mike Skinner.
Once he has all the pieces in place, Moreau splices the genes from Skinner with those of Alex Turner, ensuring a nice blend of the later’s sound with the a hint of the former’s vocal style sans the hip-hop derived vibe. What does that pungent stew produce?
Yep. Bromheads Jacket.
Be warned! If the Arctic Monkeys aren’t high on your list of favorites or you don’t like The Streets, this new Sheffield trio’s November 13 debut Dits From The Commuter Belt may not be your cup of tea. However, you need to know that simply describing them as an Arctic-Streets mash-up doesn’t do them one bit of justice. It’s only meant to give you an inkling of what to expect. As a celebration of that we won’t mention those other two by name for the rest of this post.
The Bromheads sound is sometimes darker and often much heavier (or purposefully rougher) than their better known Yorkshire brethren and they are definitely different than anything the Birmingham hip-hopper cum crooner has done. In fact, listening to Dits while typing up my thoughts makes me feel like going out for one of those how-did-I-get-stuck-in-a-dumpster piss ups! It’s music for getting to the party with or for making it through long and dreary days slaving away to make someone else lots of money. It perks you up and gets you ready to roll!
I knew one of the singles would be “Trip To The Golden Arches” even before scrounging up confirmation it’s their third off the album. How could it not be with such an incredibly catchy chorus to lure you in within the first 50 seconds: Who’d have thought you could have so much fun … staring at two headlights, wishing you had a gun. Oh, it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. I only popped out for a banana milkshake … and a super-sized pack of chips.
Other standout tracks include “One Nautical Mile” (another of those to-the-party songs), the poignant “Poppy Bird” (listen carefully to the conclusion of the story), “Fight Music For The Fight” (driving bass and drums – grrr!), and “He Likes Them Airbrushed” (featuring the excellent line She might look good, yeah. She might look nice. She might get inside your head. … But will she still be your Angelina Jolie when she farts in bed?)
Before you buy the album (which I believe you should), you can give them a whirl for free. Download their first two singles — “What Ifs & Maybes” and “Woolley Bridge” — from the official Bromheads Jacket site or listen to all three singles on their MySpace page. Do it! You owe it to yourself!
Bromheads Jacket – Woolley Bridge
Bromheads Jacket – What Ifs & Maybes
Filed under: Music, New Band Day
