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Review: Jack Foley
CROYDON nine-piece Do Me Bad Things claim to be inspired equally
by a feeling of joy and compassion and a preoccupation with the
horror of existence.
It's a heady mix that is capably demonstrated by the dazzling
diversity of their debut album, Yes!, that defies easy categorisation.
Tossing in elements of blues, rock, glam-rock, soul and metal,
it's a wildly extravagant affair that is likely to put off as
many people as it delights.
Recent single, What's Hideous (which drew comparisons
with the style of Scissor Sisters), is probably the most commercial
track on the long-player and certainly one of the finest.
Yet it doesn't really tell the whole story.
Album opener, Time For Deliverance, announces the band's
arrival in grandiose fashion - emerging as a mini-rock opera in
the style of The Rocky Horrow Show, with Darkess-style, diva-like
vocals set over crunching guitars and all manner of instrumentation
running through it.
It's a song of gawdy excess that could have you reaching for
the black eye-liner or running for the covers in equal measure.
It's no coincidence that they've been signed to the same label
that discovered The Darkness, given their penchant for glam-rock
at its most wildly eccentric.
Yet to dismiss them as mere copycats would be churlish and, in
interview, the band insist they aspire to no one, not even popularity,
but 'strive for personal excellence'.
Such excellence shines through during album tracks such as Molly's
Wood, which sounds like a 70s nostalgia trip, complete with
rousing chorus, excellent guitar riffs and a worthy male-female
vocal trade-off that flits nicely between pure rock and glam rock.
While album closer, Hold On, rounds things off in suitably
upbeat fashion, marrying some excellent melodies with a wonderful
chorus that invites you to sing-along.
Off The Hook, too, provides a wonderful showcase for
Chantal Delusional's deep soul vocals, which bear an uncanny similarity
to Skank Anansie.
Yet as good as the album is at times, there are occasional lapses,
when the mix threatens to become a little bit too eccentric for
its own good, such as The Daily Grind and Sprezzatura.
Yet if you give it time to grow, then Do Me Bad Things' album
offers something that is equally weird and wonderful - it's well
worth saying Yes! to, .
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