I don't know about you, but while I like bands such as Bloc Party well enough, it would be nice to think that in 2005 we might just stumble across some artists who are keen to take real chances and instil some of the elusive maverick spirit we so cherish round W&H.
And, I'm glad to report that, with January barely drawing to a close,we have one such outfit in our midst. They're called THE IRREPRESSIBLES, they hail from good old guerrilla-gigging, urchin-rocking London and they are far closer to Brecht than Bloc Party in execution. They take risks (hell, they welcome them with open arms) and they are on first name terms with 'pretentious': which in this case is nothing to be afraid of.
"My Witness" is their first EP. It's grandiose in (naked) design, aspires to high art and sure as hell will sort the wheat from the chaff in terms of a following. Make no mistake, The Irrepressibles are an acquired taste, but - at least on the strength of these three tracks - one quite possibly worth making the leap of faith for.
Despite being recorded over three brief days and on a tight budget, "My Witness" clearly binned indie guitar designs in a Camden gutter very early on. It opens with the title track, which is an intense, semi-orchestral flight of brooding fancy, showcasing James McDermott's acrobatic voice (the nearest 'rock' practitioners springing to mind would be Matt Bellamy and (inevitably) Jeff Buckley) and a drummerless backdrop that's nonetheless steeped in drama and gall.
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Second tune "The Boy In The Lake" is arguably better still. It's a lament of deep, craven longing (and possibly loss) with an arrangement that would get the thumbs-up from Scott Walker himself and features a vocal from McDermott that's the very essence of 'swooping'. It's almost faux-operatic in execution, but bizarrely none the worse for that.
Closing track "The State Of It All" appears to be McDermott's address to the very human condition itself and takes in bitterness, desperation, self-pity and sentimentality as it wrings itself out. Once again it's uncompromising and rails resolutely against the current zeitgeist, yet it still hits a nerve. Strange, but compelling.
Which, in a soundbite, pretty much encapsulates "My Witness" and its' attendant tracks. They may not be enough for me to abandon my on-going love affair with intelligent guitar music (which thrives, no matter what), but they do remind me there are still people out there who are happy to stick their necks on the block and jibe the executioner. For their sheer desire to be different and flaunt it merrily, The Irrepressibles get my vote.
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