I've been really diggin' all (OK, most) of the new and raw garagey/punkish music that's come along over that past few years. On top of the sheer adrenaline thrill of it all, it's been fun to decipher the influences. Bands like The Strokes and The Hives pull bits from The Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop (at least to these ears). A common thread in most of the 'modern garagers" seems to be a reverence for these early punk roots.
The Futureheads take this a step further by mixing in elements as seemingly unrelated as Art Rock (specifically, the symphonic rockers Yes) and New Wave. The harmonies and other vocal effects on the opener "Le Garage" immediately remind me of "We Have Heaven". This is while the rest of the tune explodes into a new incarnation of Gang of Four. The vocals also conjure up both The Proclaimers and XTC. This is definitely a case of the sum being much more than the parts.
Similarly, the music draws not only from many punk-related genres including Gang of Four (who get two mentions here because Andy Gill had a hand in the production), Devo and Fugazi. The guitar work includes staccato single-note blasts, angular arpeggios and rude, scraping chords. The rhythm section both supports and propels the music in a way that takes me back to the early Joe Jackson band (with Dave Houghton on drums and the incredible Graham Maby on bass).
The Futureheads is yet another counterexample to the argument that rock music is dead and/or there's nothing new under the sun. In this case, there's something both old and new.
P.S. Trust me, you can not turn this record up too loud.
(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)
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