It's perhaps coincidence, but I frequently find clumps of bands all citing the same influences all around the same time. Of course, there are some bands and artists that get name-checked by seemingly every other band going (although refreshingly, it's been a while since I read or heard a band say how it was 'Low'-era Bowie than inspired them to make music, and the Gang of Four tribute acts seem to have dried up lately): Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, The Smiths, etc., etc., ad nauseam. This past week or two, it's all been about The Clash. And The Smiths. And here come Cahier Collection, a bunch of Belfast-based bibliophiles who are indebted to The Clash, The Smiths and... Sonic Youth.
'The Leading Role' certainly has that old-school punk energy, the vocals being just that little bit off key but hey, smashing the system was never about musical perfection, right? Well, I happen to agree, and this is a choppy, uptempo number that offers a two-finger salute to conformist consumer society and class divisions. The opening lines, 'I'm so tired of feeling unfulfilled / with the pensioners writing all the wills,' are half sung, half shouted, before a crazed rockabilly riff kicks in, all surf-punk and prickles. More Jello Biafra than Morrissey, it's exhilarating stuff, and over in three minutes.
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http://www.myspace.com/thecahiercollection
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