The title of this post is a lyric from Hey! Hello!, a band who became something of an overnight success when their self-titled, fan-funded album zoomed up the UK charts earlier this year. My first instinct was to describe them as “cock rock”, until I realized that label generally isn’t considered a compliment? Though, to be fair, my thoughts weren’t exactly complimentary when I first heard them.
A straight pal of mine sent over the music video for “Swimwear” months and months ago. He had moved back to England after living in the US for some time, and we had the sort of casual friendship where we’d compare notes on music, even though he probably thought the majority of the music I loved was complete shite.
“Swimwear“, however, was one of those rare cases where I immediately hated what he sent to me. Since I trusted his opinion, I kept revisiting the band’s album over and over again to find something redeemable. It took quite some time, but the spunky mid-album track “Lock For Stock (And Other Sporting Clichés)” eventually found a home on my summer 2013 playlist.
My continued persistence also paid off after repeat listens of “The Thrill Of It All“. The song benefits from a lack of pretension, which is a way for a music snob in denial of his often judgmental tendencies (aka me) to say that it’s not trying too hard to be cool. It reminds me a bit of the punk/power pop-rock of the early ’90s to late ’00s. There’s some comfort in that familiarity, and judging from some of the glowing reviews of the full album, this sound has resonated with critics who specialize in modern rock.
Will “The Thrill Of It All” make it onto my Best of Manhunt Daily list for the Best Music of 2013? Perhaps! I haven’t made up my mind just yet, and with Gay Evan, Gay Skylar, Gay Duncan and Boulangerié Knowles also “writing” about music, we might have to reevaluate how that list is compiled.
– Dewitt
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