Glasvegas - 'Daddy's Gone'
Adjectives - that's describing words, in case you were passing notes in English class on the day they explained that sort of thing...and actually, if you were, that's kind of ironic, given than it was paying attention in class which gave you the skills necessary to write and read notes in the first place, so maybe you already know what an adjective is, and didn't need to pay attention, and therefore this interjection is a waste of your time and mine. If that is the case, I can only apologise and bow down to your rolled eyes and loud tutting - can be very misleading. I have personally read several adjectives about this band, and none of them captures what it is they actually do, to my way of hearing them.
Here's some of the song. The full video is , but it contains one great big swear in the middle, so I can't recommend that you go and check it out, as your delicate sensibilities may become damaged.)
And here are some of those adjectives*: rockabilly, frenetic, art punk, wild, visceral, genius, unique, soulful.
And you know what? It's a shame people feel the need to overstate the case when it comes to new bands. I don't expect teaspoons to be hailed as a cure for the common cold, but they are incredibly useful things to have around. I don't want to be feeling let down by my own cutlery just because people have made wild claims on its behalf that it cannot possibly meet.
And so it is with Glasvegas. They're clearly a good band, they have a good sound, they have songs like this which can leave grown men sobbing about the flaws in their relationship with their dad, or their kids, or their dad's kids, or their kids' dad. These are songs with singalong hooks, mass appeal, lyrical wisdom, passionate delivery, all that good stuff...
What they don't have is a great deal of frenetic, art punk, rockabilly, wild, visceral uniqueness. Glasvegas sound exactly like the Jesus And Mary Chain. That seems to be good enough for them, so it should be good enough for everyone else.
Also, while Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong make a lot of their love of '50s doo-wop, while failing to succesfully translate this into an actual musical influence, there's a lovely little doo-wop breakdown in this song. Which makes sense give the four-chord doo-wop turnaround on which the entire thing is based. Think of 'Unchained Melody', or 'Blue Moon' or something...
Download: Out now
CD Released: August 18th
(Fraser McAlpine)
*It's debateable whether a musical genre counts as an actual adjective, but in the context of describing music, we all use these terms to help nail what it is that we're hearing, so it's OK. Any complaints should be directed to the Department of Proper English Useage, Oxbridge University, Oxbridge, Oxbridgeshire. OX1 2BG.
Comment number 1.
At 19th Aug 2008, XxlivsxX wrote:If we're being pedantic as far as the English language goes, it should really be "none of them captures" not "capture".
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Comment number 2.
At 19th Aug 2008, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:yeah but... but... but...
OH FINE! I'VE CHANGED IT NOW!
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Comment number 3.
At 20th Aug 2008, papplemanger wrote:hmmm, another band that NME and co got friendly to, hyped up far too much, and left me disapointed with.
dull in my opinion....
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Comment number 4.
At 8th Nov 2008, kirstystock wrote:amazing album love every song on it :D
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