| www.laurahird.com |
| THE NEW REVIEW |
Josef K.net |
|
About Me Artists Books & Stuff Competition Contact Me Diary Events FAQ's Film Profiles Film Reviews Frank's Page Genre Bending Hand Picked Lit Links Heroes Index Links Lit Mag Central The New Review New Stuff Projects Publications Punk @ laurahird.com Recipes Samples Sarah’s Ancestors Save Our Short Story Site Map Showcase Tynie Talk RELATED ITEMS Order Josef K's, 'Live at Valentino's' cd
Order Josef K's, 'Crazy to Exist?' cd
Order Josef K's, 'The Only Fun in Town' cd
Order Paul Haig's, 'Cinematique' cd
|
| Section of the site where I ask my favourite writers/artists to review a selection of classic/contemporary books with related links |
 |
|
I first heard of Josef K when, aged twelve or thirteen. I was browsing through some book on Scottish music and found their tiny little entry. I hadn’t read Kafka but I liked the name, (The Velvet Underground is another good one) and I liked the myth – Scottish guys dressed in Oxfam suits, playing fast indie-stuff, then crashing and burning before being able to do their reputation any serious damage – take note, Gang Of Four. But I was young, Nirvana broke, and I forgot all about Josef. It wasn’t until Franz Ferdinand came along that I decided to part with some money and actually hear the band. ‘Young and Stupid’ was my choice. Could’ve gone for the first two albums on one disc, or a live one, or another compilation, but I was told this had all the singles on it and singles are usually a band’s best songs. This isn’t just a singles collection, though – it has demos, a live track, Peel sessions – unfortunately, though, despite the extensive liner notes, it isn’t made clear enough which is which. On first listen Josef K aren’t as good as their name. First song ‘Romance’ has nice guitar work, but no melody; it just trundles along, total filler. The first (there’s two) version of ‘Chance Meeting’ has more melody, only the production is awful, and not really in a good early-Guided By Voices way, either. Things pick up with Radio Drill Time and Crazy To Exist. This is where we get a bit more Joy Division-y, all dirgey basslines, only with snappier drumming, less hard-to-digest vocals, and ringing discordant guitar. The darkness is there, though, in the atmosphere, the dynamics. Later, we get ‘Sorry For Laughing’ and ‘Pictures Of Cindy’, proto-indie songs from the days when Indie singers couldn’t sing a note to save their hair – not like these choirboys Yorke and Martin. Along with the revamped ‘Chance Meeting’ they have nice little hooks, bouncy basslines, which only reveal themselves after a few listens but worm their way into your brain. If you play guitar you’ll want to learn them, and you’ll curse the band for being those detuned types. You’ll never work out exactly what notes are being played, you’ll never get it to sound exactly right. By the end of the album their form is patchier, with more curiosities, the for-diehards stuff. But ‘Heart of Song’ is a grower, and ‘Endless Soul’ has a nice melancholic edge to it. And that ‘m’ word brings me to the stand-out track. ‘It’s Kinda Funny’ stands alone, in a corner, by itself, watching. On ‘It’s Kinda Funny’ the guitars are all weirdly beautiful ringing notes, drones, and other things I don’t know the words for, while the bass and drums are hypnotic, the chorus catchy, sad, but uplifting at the same time. Even the Pigeon Street synthesiser bleeps (similar to Joy Division’s on ‘Insight’) can’t put you off. And by the end, as the guitars ‘solo’, you’re left hoping that somebody covers this song, does a Kurt Cobain/’Man Who Sold The World’ job on it, and brings the song – and the band – to a whole new market. Reproduced with permission
|
| YOUNG AND STUPID Josef K (LTM 2002) Reviewed by: Iain Bahlaj |
| If you would be interested in reviewing films/books for the site, contact me here |
| Music Review |