Review Summary: Adult content on the dance floor
The British band Adult DVD has released their self-titled debut album, allowing them to make an unreserved statement about themselves. They are eager to break through and share the dance-punk stage with players like
Fat Dog,
Yard Act, and
Getdown Services, weaving the dense texture of club culture into their guitar music. The record is an infectious whirlwind at the crossroads of post-punk, electroclash, acid house, and electronica, drawing direct inspiration from past musical hooligans like
Happy Mondays and
The Prodigy. Without limiting themselves to a provocative – though somewhat dated – name, the band focuses on ironic stories about conspiracy theorists, office despots, and other hopeless oddballs, immediately making it clear that excessive seriousness is definitely not their thing.
From the very first seconds, Adult DVD press the pedal to the floor and do not let up until the very end of the record, literally squeezing the juice out of the listener with heavy, dense basslines, aggressive drum breaks, and fast, juicy synthesizers. Their main goal is not just to captivate, but to drive you onto the dance floor and completely exhaust you with their energetic set of varied ideas, plunging you deeper and deeper into the atmosphere of a crazy club night.
The opening track,
Do as I Please, lays the whole deck of cards on the table with an instant surge of energy and pumping synths, after which the beats only get heavier, the groove weightier, and the synthesizers seem to go crazy from the lack of pauses and breathers. A worthy companion is
Coffin Dodger, which turns reflections on mortality into a darkly hilarious party set to a catchy hook about wanting to attend one's own funeral. The album’s tracks also accommodate a glam-rock motif about phone scammers in
Cold Caller, a rave-infused take on petty crime in
Minimal Criminal, and mocking jabs at windbags in
Jesus Christ Supercar.
The themes are successfully diluted by a family crisis and absurd imagery – like a cowboy in a supermarket buying frozen red meat instead of chilled salmon in
Cowboy on Aisle Three, where sharp synth hits accelerate the overall momentum.
The Steaks Are High feels more like a brief respite, slightly slowing the record down into a more viscous groove and offering dubious jokes about high stakes and baked cows before diving back into battle. Later, the track
Ghillie Suit also serves as a peculiar instrumental break to give the ears a rest from continuous vocals.
Office satire targets the familiar low-hanging fruit of management personnel of varying qualifications in
World’s Best Boss, while in
All I Need the protagonist rejoices at his wife’s departure to the hits of
Cher.
Real Tree Lee paints a portrait of the average conspiracy enthusiast while simultaneously ridiculing aggressive ignorance. Bringing this prolonged party to a close is the truly insane rave
Rolling Face, with its swirling basslines and pulsing arpeggios.
Of course, Adult DVD could easily be written off as lacking versatility, emotional depth, and dynamic range, since the overall direction of the sound remains virtually unchanged throughout the album, and Harry Hanson’s delivery eventually starts to feel monotonous. The main thing to understand here is this: the album was by no means created for meaningful, thoughtful listening and analysis. This is a consciously superficial work full of jokes and gags, unbridled hedonism, and feverish beats. Its mission is to push you onto the dance floor, let you immerse yourself in rhythm and movement, and cast aside all unnecessary thoughts. Adult DVD is a British-sharp, catchy, and intoxicatingly melodic work where the energy of the moment matters more than any mandatory label.
