Review Summary: Can I have some crisps?!
Who’s ready to get down to Getdown Services?
The U.K. duo’s sound is a tough one to describe; imagine if funk, new wave, indie rock, and dance were all put into an auditory blender with an unapologetically British twist. Listening to
Crisps, their debut album, is an incredibly unique experience. One moment I was tapping my foot to the infectious Devo-esque beat found within
Come On, the next moment I was laughing at the absurd lyricism in
Cream Of The Crop, and then a few songs later found myself admiring the genuinely impressive production quality on
Helen Back, the album’s only instrumental track. While we’re on the subject of lyrics, there are some absolutely golden lines featured throughout
Crisps’ breezy forty-minute runtime, such as the following:
It’s fucking cream of the crop if the crop was absolutely terrible -
Cream Of The Crop
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? / More like the twat, the twat, and the twat -
Biscuit Tin
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a comedy album by any means, and the lyrics aren’t always absurd and meaningless. In fact,
Biscuit Tin happens to be a very scathing protest track against landlords.
I Wish It Didn’t Bother Me subverts expectations midway through the album by actually being somewhat touching. On the surface, it just seems like a song about a man who’s uncomfortable being called “sir” at a restaurant, but its rather gloomy vocal delivery pairs nicely with the song’s midtempo, melancholic instrumentation. When the synth enters in the chorus and mirrors the vocal melody, it’s surprisingly emotional. The album’s more humorous lyrics work because the listener isn’t bombarded with them. Yes, there’s the very real chance somebody less receptive to juvenile humor could be turned off by some of the profanity-laden excerpts, but that’s a small price to pay for an album that is funkadelic and catchy as hell.
One of
Crisps’ finest qualities is the fact that it never loses steam; its pacing is near-perfect, and there are more than enough tempo and style changeups during its runtime to keep things engaging. The album has a tendency to ramp up the energy just as things threaten to settle down.
Evil On Tap hits like a sledgehammer with its pounding, urgent beat and its belted chorus–but part of why it hits so hard is because it arrives right as the album slows things down a bit with
Get Back Jamie and
The Vortex. The aforementioned
I Wish It Didn’t Bother Me, despite its emotional nature, is immediately followed by
Helen Back, an upbeat, euphoric instrumental dance track.
Although the instrumentals on the album are remarkably varied, there’s one constant positive throughout the entire experience: the bass. Getdown Services seem to have taken some inspiration from Talking Heads in this regard; the Heads rarely made a song that didn’t feature Tina Weymouth doing something spectacular on bass. Nearly every single one of
Crisps’ highlights has a bassline that you’re bound to catch yourself head bobbing to–even if it’s unintentional. As for the pacing, I only have minor nitpicks, such as the unnecessary and somewhat overlong interlude track,
The Vortex, or the fact that the cool-as-a-cucumber (yet cumbersome) closing track,
Loosen Your Belt, doesn’t quite feel like an adequate way to close out the entire experience. It has a little bit too much of an “elevator music” feel to it; perhaps it would’ve made a compelling interlude of some kind, but it feels somewhat awkward as a final track.
Crisps is a gloriously weird album, but one that I keep finding myself coming back to. It’s rare to see a new band come along and deliver something that’s truly unique, but Getdown Services managed to pull that off on their very first album. It takes obvious inspiration from a plethora of other bands and genres but in a way that feels fresh and satisfying on the ears; the duo’s unique sense of humor and laid-back nature help establish a very distinctive identity for the group. If you feel like dancing, laughing, and grooving,
Crisps is exactly what you’re looking for. Enjoy the ride – and don’t be surprised when you find yourself yearning for more afterward.
4.5 out of 5
