We ‘witnessed’ a Furrowed Brow gig in Manchester the other week, and we say ‘witnessed’ because we felt like an accessory to some kind of strange event, like sneaking into an ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ type cult affair without the correct passwords.
These Manchester typ(k)es saw us slightly affronted by the spectacle of a ‘Drummer in a Kaftan’ (sung to the tune of ‘Vicar in a Tutu’?) who smashed the tom and snare (no kick drum) like he was Bobby Gillespie circa 1985 in JAMC. All fronted by a snarky/sarcy singer that reminded us of Richey Manic snogging the Divine David and three awesome artists (guitar, bass, keys) that frankly held that shit together like their lives depended on it.
Think Earl Brutus meets Felt in a Britpop toilet cubicle whilst Jarvis Cocker takes bad coke with Morrissey in the next cubby. I think you get the drift.
The new single ‘I Threw The Bathwater Out’ is classic c86 style guitar pop echoes, sort of David Gedge fronting ‘Fire’ era Pulp. But it’s really just the tip of the iceberg that sunk the Titanic because the live show is a must-see riotous affair with early Fall style energy mixing wit and irony with the ultimate broadside of a spot-on cover of Johnathan Richman’s 50-year-old Modern Lovers’ classic ‘I’m Straight’.
Not only was it funnier than the original, but it suddenly makes more sense in these gender-fluid times. Instead of singing about ‘Hippy Johnny’ and his stoned antics, the narrator’s declaration of ‘I’m Straight’ now has much more meaningful cultural resonance with ‘Hipster Johnny’ and his ‘paedophile moustache’ completely trumping the original antagonists’ comparatively lame crimes of basically liking to smoke weed.
I guess what we’re saying is, buy the single and go to the next live show. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.
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Review by James Cook
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