The Beat Surrender

The music scene has for a number of years now needed a ‘lads’ band to be at the forefront of things, giving guys aged between 16 and 45 someone to support, in a similar way that people come together in a mob mentality at football (another example of football and music being so closely linked).

In the 90’s you had Oasis ruling the roost with their gigs always being attended by a larger proportion of blokes than most other gigs of rival bands, once there star started to wane a little bit and the albums deteriated in quality, then it was over to Kasabian to strut in front of the masses, becoming the band of choice for wannabe hooligans and scoundrels everywhere.

Kasabian though have met with a mixed reception for their second album Empire and some of the live reviews have suggested that a degree of lethargy has settled into the band when they are on stage these days. So who now can take on the mantle and keep up the sales of Adidas tracksuit tops and parkas?

The Pigeon Detectives have got way too much appeal to the masses despite having a staunch Leeds support, The Klaxons and the rest of the ‘New Rave’ scene appeal to anyone wearing day-glo colours or sporting a glo-stick so that rules them out,wait a minute what about The Twang?

Everything does seem to fit for them, they may have snuck upon the outside here with the two top twenty singles fast tracking them to glory, but they are undisputedly laddish, they sing about girls and fighting, have a sound very similar to The Happy Mondays who it’s fair to say probably held the crown until the arrival of Oasis and they look like they’ve been a few rounds in a boxing ring between them.

They have timed it nicely and with this album they can probably cement their position. Love It When I Feel Like This may be an album title that suggests they are in touch with their feminine side, but they’ll use that to try and weedle there way into your knickers, this is a masculine album from start to finish make no mistake.

It opens with the shimmering guitar of Ice Cream Sundae and the bands “I’m gonna have my time” chorus matches the sentiments of what i’ve been talking out. You need to be cocky and bullish if you are going to take this on. Wide Awake follows which will have been most peoples introduction to the band and then we have The Neighbour. At first it looks like the lads haven’t got the stomach for the fight “I ain’t looking for a fight, any other time mucka, just not tonight”. Don’t worry though later on in the song he meets him in the porch at a party and promptly delivers the goods.

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