The Old Romantic Killer Band The Swan With Two Necks
(Bad Sneakers) Buy it from Insound
With the emergence of artists as diverse as the Dodos, No Age and even Flight of the Conchords, 2008 has been particularly kind to the concept of ‘the duo’. Unfortunately for the Old Romantic Killer Band, 2008 is all but over. As we all turn our attention to the imminent delights promised by 2009, the debut album from this young Leeds band is about as fresh as a pint of warm, stale lager.
The aim of the Old Romantic Killer Band is clearly to fuse bluesy guitar riffs with punk rhythms. In the live setting, at least, this works reasonably well, but the lack of variety on record is truly stifling. Taken individually, tracks like Girl, You Have All The Fun, Lovers Pass and Things to Come are all respectable enough efforts, but in the context of the album – which at 22-minutes is hardly an epic – they seem to coalesce into one stodgy, unappetising whole.
The tinny production job is partially culpable here, but I think The Swan With Two Necks’ failure ultimately lies with the band’s refusal to broaden its horizons or, at the very least, embrace its limitations.
26 December, 2008 - 21:49 — David Coleman
Comments for The Swan With Two Necks review
It’s good to see that
It’s good to see that you're taking your own advice and "embracing your limitations" by being incapable of recognising and appreciating fine music when it bleeds your ears. Bravo David Colman...bravo.
The Swan With Two Necks
That might have sounded like a witty comment at the time, but it doesn't really make a great deal of sense. I've devoted ten years to writing about "fine music" and I feel very confident in my appraisal of this album. After all, it's not a complex, densely layered masterpiece that only reveals itself on the fiftieth listen -- it's just a tame debut by a pretty one-dimensional band. That became apparent to me after one listen; the subsequent six or seven were nothing short of tedious.
I've seen the band live in Leeds, when they were completely eclipsed by Jay Reatard, and if my memory serves me correct, the majority of the crowd looked as just as bored as my friend and I.
I have my limitations - don't we all? - but my inability to enjoy this album is not one of them.
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