the others
i rarely read the nme these days. not because of any animosity towards the
new style or presentation (in fact i reckon nme in 2005 is a rather positive
force and has done a lot to getting uk based guitar based bands back on track)
but just due to time constraints of adult life, and the obvious factor that i am
no longer their target market having recently passed the 25 years bracket
(ahem). therefore i miss out on all the recent hype machininations but i do know
that alan mcgees current passion 'the others' are riding the crest of serious
adulation from the nme and its legions of readers.
despite this lack of insight into the bands promotional duties i am aware of the
others 'out of sync'-ness with the so called music industry. the lead singer,
dominic masters, has become the anti-hero of a very large mobile phone army and
whenever the urge takes him, he and his noisemakers will perform anywhere,
having texted the relevant people the word is spread .. and voila .. a
happening. these so-called 'guerrilla gigs' became de facto method of promotion
for 'the others' natural rise to stardom.
so putting all the hyperbole and extras aside .. what's the album like ?
well in a nutshell .. it's ace.
i love the grottiness in its presentation, the urgency, the sheer unpolished
aspect of it, and lack of any concessions to any 2005 scenester demands. for me,
the others recall forbearers of another nme fronted scene of the pre-britpop
explosion mid90's - the scene that became known as 'new wave of new wave' within
which came the c*nt-astic s*m*a*s*h were heralded as something special. they too
were motivated, polically direct, and fanbase orientated. they too, released a
zeitgeist album that was in desperate need of some spit and polish but was far
better off without it - but time passed and no-one else actually like the album.
however, this time round the others have sorted out an excellent blast of noise
and poise in which for 45 minutes the tunes are cracking, something s*m*a*s*h
lacked if truth be told. dominic's non-melodic rants and growls are perfectly
matched by the bands garage new wave noise where the bass lines are full of
implied dirt and seediness and the guitars shred away any ounce of miserablism
left behind by overexposure to coldplay, turin brakes etc. dominic's real-life
lyrics are simple to pick out from the mess, easy to digest and are obviously
aimed for full on fan recital at their communal live outings - there is even a
track dedicated to their hardcore followers (the infamous '853' army) the
fantastically optimistic 'community 853' where he opens his heart and mind to
those interested, such positive attitude and forward thinking is a fresh spin in
the world of indie-dom normally ravaged by self pity and inward looking apathy.
hopefully all this will make the others a more long term deal than the
libertines turned out to be.
i suspect that if i were still 18, just left home, and looking for a gang to
join then there is a strong possibility that i would fall for this album in big
way, the directness, the outsider-status ('i hate the trendy crowd'), the
emotional honesty would speak to my blossoming inner soul while my limbs would
be wrapped up in the sheer excitement of the rock-n-roll noise. whether in 12
months time i still feel the same way about the album is pretty impossible to
gauge, but i hope that a lot of people will still be playing the album as if
their life depended on it.