Giles
Bidder, Iona Cairns and Bob Barrett are three immensely talented
individuals who together form one of the UK's finest punk bands,
Great Cynics. Having already put out two excellent albums named Don't
Need Much and Like I Belong in the past few years the trio are about
to release their third album – I Feel Weird on Specialist Subject
Records. Here's my review.
I
Feel Weird begins with the song I Want You Around [Chunky], a song
that I've seen Giles play a couple of times when seeing him play
acoustically by himself. This full band version immediately reminds
you of that classic Great Cynics sound. Combining the best parts of
rock, pop and punk Great Cynics have created a sound all of their
own. The song, inspired by a great friend of the band “Chunky” is
about a friend who is fed up with the way life is going but his
friends reassure him that he is still great. The second song I Went
Swimming is a song that really caught by attention on the first
listen of the record. There is a great pounding drumbeat that helps
carry the momentum of the track whilst Giles sings about doing the
things that make him feel better when he's feeling down, and how
sometimes it can be the most simple of things. You just know that in
a live setting that this song will become a huge favourite. Iona
takes over lead vocal duties on song number three, North Street.
North Street falls more in the pop punk category as Iona's vocals
give the song a sense of urgency. Iona has a great voice and it
really serves as a great weapon in an already impressive arsenal in
the Great Cynics camp. From The Creators Of Love Actually has one of
the most interesting guitar introductions on the album. Giles takes
back lead vocal duties on a song that really focuses on lyrical
content. The chorus is sadly I relate far too much too. It goes “lock
me up and pull my hair until I feel no pain at all, keep me down and
fuck me up I'll still love just like a fool.”
The
opening chords of Complicated remind me of The Bouncing Souls song
Airport Security. This is one of the slower songs on I Feel Weird but
definitely has its place. Complicated is about working your way
through life's difficult problems by taking one thing at a time.
Everyone's A Little Bit Weird is the poppiest song on the album and
is also an extremely positive anthem. It's about it being perfectly
okay to be different. It's another song that will go down really well
live, I can see a whole room of people proudly singing “Everyone's
A Little Bit Weird, Everyone's A Little Bit Queer, So What, So What's
The Problem.” Absolutely fantastic song. Lost In You was the first
song officially released for the album with an awesome music video. I
really love the disjointed introduction to the song, there is a
feeling of everyone playing a different song before they all come
together for one of the harder songs. Giles and Iona's vocals work
together perfectly as Giles takes control of the verses whilst Iona
really shines on the chorus. I've said so many times before how much
I love bands that use multiple vocalists and how it gives a great
feeling of accessibility to a band. The harmonies towards the end of
the song are first class as well and give the song a number of extra
levels. The eighth song Kind Of Like has another great guitar riff,
sounding like something the Dropkick Murphys would be very happy
with. It is a song that makes me wanting to get rowdy and have a good
dance. There is an uplifting feel to the song and I especially
enjoyed Bob's spoken word segment towards the end, I wonder if
they'll attempt that live.
“Please
Don't Hurt Me Anymore” is the chorus of the ninth track, Tread
Gently. From that I think it's pretty obvious what the song is about
and is again something I all too easily relate to. Bob Barrett's
rolling drum is joined by some much darker guitar tones at the
beginning of the song before Giles leads us on a tale of woe and
sadness. The way in which he sings the chorus feels like the pleading
of someone who is at their wits end. Iona takes charge on the lead
vocals again on the penultimate song I Know Nothing. After the
urgency of North Street here Iona puts in a more restraint vocal
performance. The song begins with just some simple guitar chords and
Iona's soft voice before Bobs drums crash in and the full band join.
I Feel Weird finishes with a song named By The Sea and is quite
different to any other Great Cynics song I've heard before. Lead by
an acoustic guitar but ably joined by bass drums and at times a
xylophone the band have created a hugely enjoyable and different
sound.
I
Feel Weird is Great Cynics best album yet. Don't Need Much and Like I
Belong are both brilliant but I Feel Weird takes the band to a whole
new level as musicians and songwriters. The trio are one of a number
of bands in our punk scene that should really be huge. Anyone can
relate to the band and is completely accessible for fans of a lot of
different musical genres, Great Cynics offer something for everybody.
Can't wait to see where they go next.
Pre-order I Feel Weird here: http://shop.specialistsubjectrecords.co.uk/products/544971-great-cynics-i-feel-weird-lp-cd
Check out all the latest Great Cynics news here: https://www.facebook.com/greatcynics
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