Twentieth Century [CD]

On their second album, Swansea Sound present a set of songs as infectious as anything from their previous incarnations. The raw energy of Hues old band The Pooh Sticks is still there; the indiepop sugar rush of Amelias Heavenly is as sweet as ever. But these songs are laced with venom and sardonic wit. Their debut single Corporate Indie Band was a sly tribute to a music scene that had lost all its authenticity, with bands in hock to social media managers: corporate puppets play-acting at independence. Here, they take it further with a look at the heroes of their youth the fabled eras of rock, punk, post-punk and considering whether the prophets that emerged from those scenes were any use whatsoever. In Paradise, the electric synth-bleeps conjure up the 1980s with all its optimism about a digital nirvana: one that turned out to consist of Cambridge Analytica, OnlyFans, Spotify, incel-populated chatrooms... The title track plays out the egotism of a punk rocker in combat gear, armed with a major label deal, singing about revolution. But Far Far Away is a pretty straightforward love song to Pete Shelley. Other tracks address the Twenty First Century: Markin It Down is a duet between Hue, a vinyl obsessive, and Amelia, the owner of a second-hand record shop, with him searching for bargains amidst the over-supply of Yard Act albums... Click It And Pay is a duet between a harassed home-worker doing some online shopping and the woman in the fulfilment warehouse whos under pressure to pack his requisites. All these songs are indiepop, if you insist. They are full of earworms and will make you want to dance. But they're also full of funny, complex, mordant ideas - and maybe thats why youll want to hear them many more times. 1. Paradise 2. Seven In The Car 3. Keep Your Head On 4. Click It And Pay 5. I Dont Like Men In Uniform 6. Twentieth Century 7. I Made A Work Of Art 8. Markin It Down 9. Punish The Young 10. Far Far Away 11. Greatest Hits Radio 12. Pack The Van

• Format Detail: CD
• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock