Album Review by Mark Bayross
I suppose any band with a name like this is bound to produce a sound that evokes the grimy dilapidation of Britain’s industrialised North and the swaggering escapism of much of the artistic expression that has come out of it. The Grim Northern Social come from the Glasgow area, but unlike fellow Glaswegians The Jesus And Mary Chain or Primal Scream, theirs is a sonic rebellion reliant on introspection rather than noise or electropunk hedonism.
While the band lays a solid foundation of guitars, keyboards and swirling electronics, singer Ewan MacFarlane dominates the album, whether raging against the evils of heroin abuse (SNAP THE IMPOSTERS) or the pressures of modern life (recent single URBAN PRESSURE) with a vocal delivery somewhere between Mick Jagger, Richard Ashcroft and John Lydon.
While this makes for a mouthy performance that some could find irritating (if you could handle previous single HONEY then you should be able to enjoy the rest of this), there are moments in the quieter second half of the album where MacFarlane’s voice soars and all is forgiven (CLASH OF THE SOCIAL TITANS runs the gamut).
The stand-out track is probably GASOLINE QUEEN, a piano-led love song written to his wife that opens with the immortal line “She sucks like a hoover / my face is her chair”, but somehow still manages to sound heartfelt and achingly romantic.
As the hidden track after FAVOURITE GIRL demonstrates, The Grim Northern Social have an ability to craft rousing, atmospheric anthems as well as satisfyingly psychedelic wig-outs. Given time, and possibly a name change, they may evolve into serious contenders to the UK indie rock crown.
