Wednesday 18 March 2009

hatcham social - you dig the tunnel, I'll hide the soil

toby has got a wonderful voice, he sings properly and he doesn't shout like most of the people out there, me included. in this first LP of them he needs to shout something thou: "what's mine is mine all mine and mine". key sentence of the album, essence of the band. listening to them you can tell the records they used to have on the shelves at home, you can tell the album they pick up at the charity shop and the ones they have to move when they are looking for the keys before going out.
but the loudest side of this "you dig the tunnel, I'll hide the soil" is theirs, all theirs and theirs.
that's what made me fall in love with them two years ago. in a seasick panorama where a generation of bands shout out who they want to resemble, I fall in love with the few who learned from the past and are not afraid of "not resemble".

Hatcham Social buy mostly records that are cheap to buy in London.
Hatcham Social can catch unusual frequencies from across the ocean.

Cheap records in London are into the boxes of unusual shops and either they sold millions of copies or they sold few thousands.
when unusual frequencies cross the ocean the signal is strong and everlasting.
I don't want to analyse the songs or the mixing because I think a review is not a suitable place to do so.
when in a record is possible to read all this and the identity of the band is still clear and strong... well... we are talking about a great album and a great band.

Just bloody listen, will ya?



ps- check out Dave's blog every now and then.

5 comments:

mauro said...

I like that voice coming from a certain distance. It's bright, neat and vibrating, and it creates a constant dialogue with that twangy-sharp guitar layer (what is it? a Telly?).
Base and drumming are functional to the rest of the job, which is a non-stop cheerful beat.
For some aspects I must admit I can recall some sounds from early 80's pop rock, but nothing in particular cause the dudes have their own personality.

Ps. That face on the video reminds me of a young Macca, innit? :-)

Antonio said...

..reading your piece, I was expecting something more than this.. to me, they sound like some kind of Smiths wannabe, That is a compliment, afterall. :-)

d a v i d e said...

I don't agree with that, Antonio. I don't find and Smiths wannabeeism. I see that in many other bands around here and no. I don't see it in them.
What exactly recalls Smiths in your opinion?

Antonio said...

... I don't know, something with the vocals, or maybe it's just some morriseyian (?) mood here and there...you know, like when Morrissey is having a good time (it happens sometimes) and sings and jumps around...or maybe it's just my mind filled with too much music these days, who knows... anyway, nevermind :-)

d a v i d e said...

:)
I love you.