Review Summary: One Direction with Instruments....
Us Irish are an undiscerning bunch; engrained into our psyche is the habit of building anything we can call our own up to mammoth levels before dropping it the moment it becomes too popular (U2, the Catholic Church…). The latest in a lengthy line of hyped Irish acts are four young lads from that hotbed of musical creativity; Cavan. Along the way to achieving a recording contract with Virgin EMI, the quartets blistering live performances have garnered approval from the duke of rock himself David Grohl and even a brief nod of approval by Elton John on American television. So can four teenagers, seemingly immune from wrongdoing at both home and abroad relight the long extinguished fire that is sixties rock and roll through their debut LP Snapshot?
Lyrics. The poetry of song, the primary vein of connection to the listeners emotions, the vital cog in connecting the audience to the musician, occasionally owing its hand to transforming the most mediocre of melodies into a classic. Thought lyricism couldn’t reach the dark depths of Justin Bieber's plastic romanticism? Queue Blue Collar Jane in which Ross Farelly sings “ Always has a teacup when she knocks upon my door/ she just wants some milk and sugar but all I want is her/- You got a four wheel drive? / You know that's how she gets around". In short, every lyric contained Snapshot makes the Teletubies seem high intellects. Sadly the musical misery sees no sign of ceasing, with the exception of the somewhat passible faux-Zeppelin blues of Angel Eyes each recording follows an identical route; undercooked guitar solos, a light dash of harmonica, off kilter singing and more lyrics á la Google Translate.
Every inch of Snapshot screams marketing product, discharging an unsightly corporate ooze for young impressionable teenagers to latch onto. In many respects The Strypes are a parasite in today’s music industry. At least pop bands such as One Direction make no attempt to impart a musical integrity onto its listeners. It would be a truly worrying prospect if The Strypes ascend into legendary stardom, will Snapshot be seen the White Album for future generations? Will Nickelback become the next Led Zeppelin? Life is precious and there are so many things you could do in the thirty-five minutes that Snapshot limply stretches over; clean your housemates dirty dishes, watch someone sleep (bit creepy that) or maybe start a stamp collection, just please don’t waste it listening to Snapshot. You’ll regret it.
