I can still remember my old friend
Gordon going on and on about this up and coming band from the UK. He
told me that they were starting to get a bunch of buzz in the music
press, and even on MTV. “Trust me, though, they are actually good!”
he said, knowing that in my mind MTV praise was a damnable thing.
This was the 80s, and MTV during the day didn't know crap about good
music. 120 Minutes did, though, and that was where this band
began to show their face.
By now I am sure that the smart reader
has been able to figure out that I am talking about The Godfathers.
Hopefully the fact that this review is about their new single, and
that their name is up top there, was enough to clue everybody in. I
know all of you are a smart group of people.
So here we sit, a lot of years after I
first heard these guys. A lot of years after I first fell in love
with them. A lot of years after Birth, School, Work, Death first
blew me away. A lot of years after More Songs About Love
and Hate gave me mixed emotions,
and a lot of years after Unreal World gave
me even more mixed emotions. In the years that have passed I have
gone long stretches of time not listening to the band, listening to
them again and wondering why I hadn't listened to them again sooner,
and then long periods of time not listening to them again. They also
did a bunch of reunion shows a few years ago, I got excited about
them, then I forgot about them. Hell, I even proposed an interview
with them for an issue of Sonic, they agreed, then I have no idea
what happened.
Now
we are graced with a new single. How is it? Well, it is easy enough
to click the link below and find out for oneself. The band describes
the tune as their tribute to the Ramones. Eh, O.K. I am not a huge
Ramones fan (no, I will not apologize), so this didn't get me too
excited. The song is fairly straight forward, in the style of the
Ramones. The voice is typical Peter Coyne, but it
isn't clicking with me quite like the older stuff. That could quite
easily change in my mind with a few listens.
A
quick search shows me that I have actually missed two other new
singles! Foolish me. Those two tunes are “Back Into The Future”
and “The Outsider.” On those two songs Peter Coyne actually
sounds like he has been influenced even further by the UK Punk scene.
His voice has completely lost any charm, and is now pure Punk venom.
The band is almost running closer to an Oi sound, or UK '82 sound
than they are the Punk meets Pop crossover creature that they were in
the 80s. This is not progression, but total regression. I am a little
confused on how I feel about these songs. In some regards I like
them, but in others I miss the killer melody and beauty they were
able to mix with the angst. This is all angst.
This
all might sound negative, but I am really not meaning it to sound so.
I will no doubt buy this as soon as released. I am sure that it will
take me a few times to fully fall in love with, and that is coming
from the fact that I will probably be hoping for the slight
commercial side that I fell in love with. Yes, I said I loved the
commercial side of it all. I liked the fact that they snuck into the
radio, and still spit in the face of the general public. The new
material will more than likely not be able to connect with the folk
who would never listen to a Punk band. Granted, this might be exactly
why they have gone this route. They know that they will never break
the top 10 now days, so why the hell should they try a commercialized
approach to their music? May as well go for broke and put out as much
of the piss and vinegar as they can. They got nothing to lose, so
they may as well keep their integrity.
http://soundcloud.com/godfathers-1/08-i-cant-sleep-tonight
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