When I received this single there was a note with it saying, ‘this is a bit of a departure for us, hope you like it’. So cautiously I stuck this on expecting the new Scratch direction to be…. well to be what exactly? After all this is a band that on their debut dipped their collective toes in dance, dub, punk, post punk, glam and just anything else that took their fancy. What was left then? A jazz world fusion involving Peruvian nose flutes?
Not exactly. The Scratch’s new single is a ballad. Yep a slowie, get the acoustic guitars out and look earnest here’s the chance to show their soft side dude. Thing is though it works. No, it doesn’t just work it might even be the best thing they’ve done yet. What with slow songs having been hijacked by the likes of Coldplay, Keane, Athlete et al this reviewer was beginning to believe there would never be another lament that actually touched his dark cold heart. I feared I had been hardened by too many soft boys whimpering ‘cos they miss their mummies.
What ‘Undercover reminds me of most is Blur. Blur, lest we forget have written some of the greatest ballads ever (Out of Time, This is a Low, Tender, The Universal, To the End, No Distance Left to Run, I rest my case m’Lord). ‘This is the comeback / from the comedown / it is the aftershock / from the new sound’ so starts lead singer Andy over acoustic guitars. The song builds slowly to a chorus of ‘It’s the lover / You got undercover’ before they chuck in some strange whizzing electronic sounds that should spoil the whole thing but bizarrely bring a tear to my eye. What’s it about? Haven’t a fuckin’ clue but it’s marvellous and deserves to be sung back to the band by fields full of pissed people at a festival near you.
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Conversely on the flip ‘Time to Say (It’s Over)’ is one of their slightest songs to date and we shall not dwell on it too long. Final track on this single ‘Out Faking the Fakers’ leaps back into more familiar Scratch territory by being a bit garage rock, a bit punky and oh so very now. Chuck in a glorious crunchy riff and it takes the piss out of the hastily formed garage bands currently surrounding us in the best way possible, by pissing on them from a great height. Check out their website for details on getting your hands on this, you won’t regret it.
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