Tropes, tropes, tropes! All within the English Pop/Rock canon, thank you very much. Nuisance opens up with "125 West Third Street," a cut with all the riff-bravado of (and shameless thievery from) the Jesus and Mary Chain, Teenage Fanclub, the Wonder Stuff, or R.E.M., and none of touring, legwork, experience, or chronology, as Menswe@r has only been around about a year or so.
The most distinguishable thing about these Pop/pastiche artisans is their squeaky clean, fresh-from-grade-school collective countenance and assembly-line retro vibe. Who DON'T they borrow from? These lads poach from bands who already borrow from other bands such as Blur, Elastica and Echobelly. A snotty, smartass vocal a la Bret Anderson ("He's a superficial f*cker/has the girls one after the other" from "Stardust"); an asexual, apathetic nonsensical witticism a la Blur ("Sex is a secondary thing/doomed to come dumb and king" from "piece of me"), unabashed vulnerability a la Morrissey ("I don't believe in being brave" from "Being Brave")... and this segues into horns and grooves akin to those of The Specials or The Jam, leading Anglophile Pop devotees helplessly around by the nose, entertained if not a little disoriented.
Still, this Pop's alright, and the disorientation's not necessarily unpleasant. Rather, Nuisance simulates a lazy Sunday in which you flip from song to song on your radio through stations--college stations and commercial--that'll only play derivative Pop hits. Menswe@r's hard-to-peg elasticity leaves one challenged: their first single, barely out ("Daydreamer"), does merit the current adulation and comparisons to Wire that it has garnered thus far, but more so for its production quality than any true experimentation.
Singer Johnny Dean sails from song to song, making up for his minimal range with a truckload of charisma, changing incrementally, chameleon-like, for the style that each song demands. And again, the Menswe@r lineup sounds like they borrowed their names from old American B-movies or cowboy flicks: Johnny Dean, Chris Gentry, Simon White, Stuart Black, Matt Everett...
What's brought these boys the most renown of late, most especially in the U.K., is just plain hype and a bit of riding on their cohorts' coattails. The hype is not unfounded, but an "indie-savant" image and smashing good looks can only grant one so much street cred. Their "hidden track," combining circus music rhythms and wandering, lilting guitars, lyrics, and effects, shows splendid promise, and one hopes that when these boys (sorry, the youngest member's all of 18) hit their stride on their inevitable second album, they'll bring that many more of the wild oats they're sure to have sown by then to the table.
