Reverend and the Makers, Koko, July 8th
Reverend and the Makers played Koko on July 8th
Also In The News
|
Monty Panesar and James Anderson were the unlikely heroes with the bat as England snatched a draw against Australia on the final day at Cardiff. |  |
Monday, 13, Jul 2009 09:53
Louise McCudden is undecided about the Reverend's combination of art and politics in north London.
I have been keenly determined to see the Reverend and the Makers ever since witnessing an impassioned argument several months back between two fairly musically-knowledgable friends, who were both utterly convinced in equal measure that the band were either "the freshest, rawest and most original UK band in the past five years" and "a half decent Arctic Monkeys covers band who ruin a good act by actually writing their own songs".
Fans tend to have "always" loved them; critics have "always" hated them. So, with cautious excitement, I'm determined to bring a note of impartiality to their discussion.
It wasn't long before I realised that however ambiguous I felt towards Reverend and the Makers, there was a ridiculous amount of love for them in the room. From local fans with thick Yorkshire accents draped over the bars and balconies, to baggie-shirted scruffy-haired indie-loving cartoon stereotypes singing along meaningfully with every word; from excited younger fans punching the air up by the stage, to middle-aged women clutching cider in plastic cups, the audience obediently laughed and yelled and whistled and sang and even fell into the appropriate profound silences as dictated by the aggressively charismatic frontman John McClure.
The justification for the love? Well, most of the songs were very good, and a few of the songs were genuinely brilliant. Heavyweight Champion of the World struck up the crowds with its accessible anthemic hook, and quite a few others demonstrated a measure of true musical grit which is missing from a lot of siimilar-veined bands. The lyrics, growled in a defiantly Yorkshire accent, were smart and poetic (although not, I'm afraid, anywhere near as important as McClure clearly believes), and the riffs were all sharp (although nothing so sharp as an Arctic Monkeys riff to be found here). But many song echoed other bands to previously stamp out the same footsteps, and the larger figures of the Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and even the Kaiser Chiefs constantly loom over McClure's spotlight, blocking him and making his bolshy "ordinary music for ordinary people", as he describes it, as faint as the lines of a pencil scribbling on a stone.
Placing so much evidence on lyrics, politics and meaning is a mistake. Reverend and the Makers are not political scientists or academic superminds. A catchy guitar riff and words about looking good on the dancefloor or girlfriends not dressing up in fishnets anymore will make us have a good time. Stopping the music to read a poem about the state of today's world (which, in an explosion of inspiration, discovers that 'Iran' rhymes with 'Afghanistan' and 'Pakistan' and 'Kazakhstan' and... well, you see where this going), or drape a Russian flag across the stage (for reasons best known to themselves), their audience - those "ordinary people" that McClure simultaneously patronises and champions - their audience is going to expect a bit more belly and a bit less excess fat. Not that there's any problem with mixing art and politics.I'm all for that. There's just a problem with a university dropout mediocre musician clutching a beer and hopping about like he can't find the bathroom facilities trying to tell me how I ought to feel about the world situation. There's also a bit of a problem with bands who sell overpriced CDs, concert tickets, and merchandise to the profit of themselves (not to mention to the profit of big corporate record companies) whining about the shallowness of capitalism. Tell it to the guy at the bar who charged my mate nearly five quid for a pint.
This shouldn't distract from the fact that this band are pretty decent. The musical talent is all there. But if they're going to break out of their image as the Arctic Monkeys' B-grade mates, they're going to need to something a bit more special. And contrary to what McClure has been said to have stated in interviews, he is not unique in being a left-wing-minded pop singer writing anti-establishment lyrics. Memo to The Rev: there have actually been quite a lot. Writing pro-Thatcher pop songs; now that would be fresh and gutsy. (apparently declaring himself even to be "the only one" in pop music who writes about political issues. The journalist replies by naming a couple of artists such as Billy Bragg, for example. McLure replies "I'm the only one." (http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=4476).
I turned up at the Koko to watch the Reverend and the Makers with no clear opinion in my mind as to whether I liked the band or not. I left the show feeling pretty much the same way.
Louise McCudden