REVIEW: Bond, Bang Out Of Order (Work)
- Simon West
Catchy three minute songs in a Britpop fashion with a cockney lead vocal and lyrics dealing in pop culture and everyday life. Parklife era Blur, right? Not this time.
Bond's debut is a lively affair, dropping beats and keyboards on top of guitar driven hooks and singalong choruses. The overall effect isn't particularly original, but it's undeniably entertaining.
Highlights include "Starbucked", a great shoutalong about groupies, full of unpleasant sexual puns: "Her gasm is in ore/My balls are in her court." "Anne Grenade" sounds a bit like Everclear might if Art Alexakis came from Sarf London. "Retronoyoko" veers just a little too close to Blur territory but entertains regardless, with a lyric dealing with the retro scene where "Everyone's retro/Sorta mono/Kinda Yoko/Ono." "I'm A Bastard" sounds a bit like Squeeze might if Squeeze went out for a heavy night on the piss and then wandered past a fairground.
Bond aren't all daft puns and pop culture. First single "Nothing Fits", combining backward guitar and a dub-style rhythm with one of the catchiest choruses of the year, seems to be about having a bloody awful day. "Disposable" is surprisingly slow, with great harmonized vocals and lyrics with vaguely religious undertones. It's one of the best tracks on the album, and proof that Bond has more to offer than simple raucous pop.
Bang Out Of Order's radio-friendly sound may be partly due to producer Matthew Wilder (No Doubt), but various Bond members have chart experience, from Shakespeare's Sister to Black Grape - ex-Grape Martin Slattery is the keyboardist here, and tracks such as "Starbucked" are a little remeniscent of the chaotic anarchy of Ryder and company.
Nothing earth-shattering here then - a bit of Madness, a touch of 90's Britpop, fuzzy guitar riffs and a bit of sax here and there, but stamped with Bond's own personality. A consistently entertaining debut album, well worth checking out.
