REVIEW: Wonder Stuff, Construction for the Modern Idiot
- Bob Gajarsky
Construction for the Modern Idiot, the Wonder Stuff's fourth release on Polydor, combines lead singer Miles Hunt's sneering lyrics with violins, banjos, guitars and keyboards for a sound that maintains the band's unique alternative edge.
The album's first single, and unofficial title track, is "On The Ropes". "Ropes" reminds this critic of "Caught In My Shadow", a single from the Never Loved Elvis disc.
"Maybe it's a bit pompous to call what we do art", Hunt notes, "but the song's about the constant fight between holding onto your values and accepting the realities of the situation you've put yourself into".
"Swell", one of the five catchy tunes on the disc, mocks those who long for the "good old days" with lines such as "Our good is lame, their bad is fame; it's just a circle game".
The man-love boy association doesn't escape Hunt's wrath in "I Wish Them All Dead", where he spits "You know these fucks have the balls to use municipal halls/to bring their shit into light/It's time to pick up a knife... to see an end to their lives".
A new positive style of critical lyrics has evolved throughout the disc, especially on "Cabin Fever", which can almost be seen as a follow-up (five years later) to "It's Yer Money I'm After Baby". In fact, this time around, Hunt tells the audience that "You're not funny / stuff your money", a direct change from the band's focus five years before.
The other song which immediately caught this critic's ear is "Hot Love Now", which would be a good choice as a second single. Unlike any other Wonder Stuff song, this could be a track capable of opening the band up to larger audiences without alienating old fans.
The only problem with this release is the choice of filler songs on the disc. Of the 12 songs on Construction, seven seem to fade in the background.
New fans won't be brought into the Stuffies camp, but fans who have appreciated the last album (_Never Loved Elvis), or people who like the sound of groups such as the Levellers or the Clash will have no regrets about purchasing Construction for the Modern Idiot.
