Before this project, I couldn’t claim to be an expert on Britpop, or indeed on any of the formative subgenres of pop in general. But after enjoying so many in and around the genre, like Stone Roses and Arctic Monkeys (my personal favorites), I’m starting to come ‘round.

This might just be my American perspective, in which everything spoken or sung with a British accent takes on a completely different character than the same words in an American accent, but there’s always something a little wry about Britpop music, like they want to be unserious but repress the urge with 90% success. This album is extremely cohesive, with effortless songwriting and a smattering of goofy lyrics or sounds that amount to the 1980’s Britain version of a polite middle finger to the establishment. In fact, the emotional dissonance from the lyrics of songs like “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and the emotionally compressed backing music, which carries only a hint of the wistfulness of the lyrics, is a trait I’ve started associating with Britpop. Maybe I’ve been over-stimulated by the endless need for “bigger, louder, sadder, happier” that seems to have infected music since the time of this album, but at the same time I’ve heard the same in many of the British acts, like a musical manifestation of the famous “British restraint” the pop culture world would have us believe in.

Jams

“Frankly, Mr. Shankly”
“I Know It’s Over”
“Bigmouth Strikes Again”

Originally part of Jamwise #31 - Separating the Music From The Listener.