Review Summary: sugar coated bitter truth indeed
It’s certainly rich for two white men from the Tory capital of the country to call themselves Slaves. It’s also certainly bloody rich for them to masquerade as skinhead punk rockers “sticking it to the man" when they’re wetter than diarrhoea and stand for ***ing nothing.
That’s what this album is. Nothing. Opening song “The Hunter” contains the lyric “you don’t like what we do because we say what we think and that shocks and frightens you”. Remind me what you are saying? I’ve worked zero-hour jobs before too, and the difference is I actually have something to say about it, not the vaguest smarmy rhetoric that is as vacuous as the black hole of nothing this album and its scuzzy, ugly riffs occupy.
The singles are at least catchy, but musically the album falls completely flat. “Sockets” has less dynamics than TV static, “Ninety Nine” has the ***ing nerve to copy the same musical aesthetic as
Sleaford Mods (an infinitely better lo-fi working-class punk duo) and the last track “Sugar Coated Bitter Truth” is the band trying to do a haunting ballad and cocking everything up about it.
“Do Something” features frontman Isaac Holman blaring “if you’re not moving, do something” over Laurie Vincen’ts looming guitar riffs, Vincent seriously ripping off Steve Ignorant from ***ing
Crass (seriously, *** you for doing that). The effect is cruel, sarcastic, patronising, and that sums up the whole album.
The video for recent single “Cheer Up London" was released on the same day that the people of Britain woke up to the news of five more years of a Conservative government; five more years of division, suffering and death under the policies of austerity. Meanwhile, these two fake pricks milk the sufferings of the disaffected youth who need to know where to focus their anger, and they’re laughing to the ***ing bank. Nothing on this album is heartfelt. Nothing on this album means anything. This album is disgusting and offensive. Take the money you’d blow on a Slaves show and look up
Martha, [L]
Sleaford Mods[/L],
Skinny Girl Diet, the many other bands that are plugging at the UK DIY circuit who don’t have the benefit of getting lucky and bedding an NME/Radio 1 rep.
Because this band don’t deserve your support. I’m not ***ing satisfied.
