I’ll be the first to admit that my tastes are anything but mainstream, and many of my favourite bands are likely to be considered unlistenable by the majority. But I also pride myself on being able, at least for the most part, to listen objectively and identify a) what it is I like or dislike about a song, band or album b) spot the merits of a record and thus appreciate why others may find it appealing even when I do not.
Sometimes, I think that looking at the record cover / CD sleeve or reading the press release or anything else that tells me about the band or shows me what they look like before listening to their recordings is a bad idea. I like to, y’know, let the music do the talking, and to, ahem, listen without prejudice.
But in the music industry, image is everything: it’s all about marketing, right? So, slipping ‘Sequels’ by I Am the Heat, who hail from Brooklyn, New York into the player, my eye is caught by the band photo – four average-looking guys with hip haircuts. One has a plaid shirt, another has paint brush-marks on his. There’s a ‘paint’ theme to the EP’s cover, too. It’s clearly all about the art with these fellas. Well, on listening to the CD, it’s clearly not about the music. Fast, frantic, bouncy and, frankly, painful. It’s all over the shop and the production’s really rather poor. Sure, they sound like they’re having fun, but what about the rest of us? So this is what rockpop / indie / dancepunk / garage sounds like. I’d always wondered. And now I know, I’ll be giving it a miss.
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