Futureheads: nice and noisy but where do you listen to it?
Everyone is gushing about the Futureheads at the moment. And, yes, it’s a pretty good album in a very post-punk kind of way. It lacks the sort of melodic hooks that made bands like the Buzzcocks and XTC really stand out against a sea of noise, but, hey, they’re young - they’ll learn.
But, here’s the problem though: where does a 30something bloke with a partner listen to this sort of frantic, scratchy stuff?
I can imagine they’re great live. That’s no problem. But, I’m busy that night. I can imagine if you’re a record reviewer sitting at home playing CDs all day it’ll sound wonderful compared to much of the samey nonsense you get sent (not to mention remakably reminiscent of the music of your youth). If you’re a teenager who wants to lock himself in his room and jump up and down in anger at everything, then it’s heaven.
But what about the rest of us? It’s not going on after work (too noisy after a hard day). It’s hardly dinner party stuff; and you can’t listen to it in the gym (unless you’re bouncing up and down on a trampolene). You might just be able to play it in the car - as long as you’re by yourself. You can’t play it at a party as it will have everyone running to the other room. You could put it in your ears as you walk the streets, although I sense you might start punching things or at least jumping up and down suspiciously.
I suppose you could invite a gang of male friends around, drink cans of lager, turn it up loud and all bounce around in a huddle - but that stopped being my idea of fun quite a while ago.
So, I own it. I’ll say I quite like it. I’ll rip it and have it on various devices and hard drives . But will I listen to it and love it? Unlikely.