The third installment of Here Come The Popes is taken from the Sheffield band's 4th album, High Slang, due out in early 2009. They describe it as a "string driven romp through the 11th and 12th centuries".
The song gives a potted history of Papal hypocrisy by addressing the sensitive debate over whether the clergy should take wives, quoting Nicholas II, no less, as saying " was more of crime for a priest to marry than to have a concubine".
The song takes pleasure in reporting that the Church's decree against wedlock did not prevent priests fornicating with whores.
This three minute history lesson also gives the band an excuse to dress up in Pope outfits for the video and provides a lively vehicle for the band's deadpan humour.
The B side comes across as a work in progress than a finished song. 'Dentist To The Stars' is a gothic tale of an anaeshetist who dreams of murdering a celebrity patient but after just 2 minutes it ends almost as soon as the story has begun.
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This penchant for offbeat story songs together with the fact that violins and dulcimer figure more prominently than guitars explains why Sergeant Buz are closely linked to the UK Anti-Folk scene. The fact that the band have also run acoustic orientated nights at London's 12 Bar club for over 6 years has also helped make this label stick.
In truth, their bawdy brand of Northern charm has more in common with the music hall tradition than alternative folk music.
This single scores high marks for novelty and originality but it doesn't strike me as a song with much lasting appeal.
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