The title of Scumbag Philosopher's debut album summarily encapsulates the band's ethos and reflects their cleverly ironic take on postmodern nihilism. 'It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing' is an exercise in blank parody, dismantling contemporary culture with a studied disdain and calculated distance, making for an album that's quirky, petulant, misanthropic and punchy in equal measure, not to mention refreshingly articulate.
When they're not debunking the myths of celebrity lifestyles ('Your Heroes At Home' depicts the likes of Brandon Flowers, Chris Martin and Paul Daniels engaging in everyday activities like emptying bins and trimming the hedge and centres around the chorus line 'got to get the arsewipe in'), they're laying bare the absurdity of social 'networking' with people you already know, work with and who are probably in the next or even the same room ('Social Networking Site') or otherwise poking wry fun at contemporary life.
They're a dry, cynical bunch, sarky, snotty and superior, and the album is a shining example of pissed-off, sneering deadpan post-punk, left-field and left-wing, equal parts The Fall, Wire and Gang of Four. At its best, it's absolutely killer: the single 'God Is Dead So I Listen to Radiohead' is a definite standout, being as hooky as hell and also highly amusing in a clever-clever way, and there's no shortage of memorable refrains and even a few genuinely chuckleworthy lines to be found strewn about the rest of the album as it clatters and clangs along either.
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With tongues so firmly in cheek and every word of every line in metaphorical inverted commas, it's impossible to tell where the irony ends and the honesty begins, or even if it ever does. I like to think that when monotone droner Grant Madden intimates 'I still buy records, can't let vinyl down' ('On the Short-Wave') he's being sincere but he could just as easily be mocking the neo-Luddites in he same way he rips the piss out of, well, everything else.
Precisely how well 'It Means Nothing So It Means Nothing' will withstand repeated plays remains to be seen, and it's certainly not an album the band could base a long-term career on without substantial expansion in scope, but on its own merits, it's a decent album.
Scumbag Philosopher Online
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