Dutch Uncles

This first thing that strikes me about the Dutch Uncles is the fact there are 5 of them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always found most bands to have 4 members. The Vaccines, for example, and Vampire Weekend or The 1975. However, some of the more famous 5-piece bands include Pearl Jam, The Rolling Stones and Judas Priest, all of which are pretty ‘rocky’. There is, of course, *NSYNC and One Direction, but they’re groups, not bands... I just thought I'd add some variety in.

The second thing that strikes me is Duncan Wallis’s incredible dancing. As the lead singer, he’s not trapped behind a drum kit or a guitar, and he definitely makes the most of it. In the videos, if he’s not sat on a piano stool or in a bathtub, he’s busting some pretty interesting moves.

I think my favorite song of theirs is Fester, with the xylophone/marimba hook running through it. Despite the rather vulgar title, the song is very catchy with its simple lyrics. Cadenza is similar in this way, with a simple riff running through it, which is built on with drums and lyrics. I like songs like this, which start with a single sound, then slowly work their way up to the chorus, and continue building up, before gradually declining towards the end.

I think the band is very clever in this way, constructing their music as if the drums, guitars, piano and vocals are like building blocks, shuffling them round until they take the shape they think works best. They've certainly done a good job of it.

Their eponymous first album was released in Germany in 2008, but they returned to the UK in 2010 with The Ink. They have since supported Paramore on their European tour and more recently, Everything Everything on their UK tour. Both bands reside in Manchester, with Everything Everything consisting of 4 members. Some might argue the 2 bands are similar in some ways, as they are both considered to be Indie Pop/Rock and many of their songs are quite individual and incongruous.

In essence, I think the Dutch Uncles are a very accomplished band, and hopefully can only get bigger and better. Thank you, Mr Worsley, for introducing me to them!

Chances

 

Generally, I like to think I’m quite a forgiving person; I can never hold a grudge. I can try, but usually drop the barrier relatively quickly.

Therefore, I think I’m quite a generous person when it comes to forgiving and giving people second (or third or fourth) chances. I can never really bring myself to sort people out if they’re causing me a problem. Either I’m too nice, or I’m a wuss.

There’s a boy who sits behind me in physics, considered by many as a bête noire, who has recently been swiping and touching my back with his pen or his hands, and I really really don’t like being by back being poked and prodded and tickled, especially when I’m not expecting it. So I jerk about, wriggling. I just have a sensitive back. But this, of course, is the reaction the boy is looking for, and so he keeps doing it. It’s really annoying, and every time I tell him to stop, he tells me to go away, except with a few swear words in the mix. Lovely. It has got to the point where I feel uncomfortable with him behind me, and I find myself tensing up and jumping at nothing, I just think he’s poking me. I should do something about it but I just can’t bring myself to do it, for several reasons; I don’t want to cause my teacher a problem, I don’t want to inflict the boy on anyone else, and I’m scared he’ll find another way to rile me up. And I’m a wuss.

I suppose this weakness is also a strength, however, because it means I get along with pretty much everyone, because I manage to hide my aversion - or in some cases, hatred – towards them. I think I’m actually quite a mean person, I just cover it up. That’s really bad, isn’t it?

Anways, after that little tangent…

I should probably start to stand up for myself a little more, as it think it’s something I need to develop if I’m going to get anywhere later on in life; my mum usually wins all my ‘fights’ for me, righting the things I’m too nice to sort out myself. I usually try to discourage her from helping me, in fact.

I was very tempted to draw on this lads head, when he put his head on the desk and went to sleep (whilst we were supposed to be working) but I decided against it. I don’t want to give him a reason to carry on making me uncomfortable. I’m just lily-livered, I suppose.

This was a rather odd article, I think, and I don’t think it reads too well. But I’ve written it now, and I don’t want to just delete it!

Modern Vampires of the City Review

 Mr Worsley, I gladly accept your challenge of writing an album review :)

Modern Vampires of the City is the only Vampire Weekend record I own, but I am thoroughly convinced I spent my money wisely. No regrets, as they say.

I really like Vampire Weekends general style; there’s something that I’ve noticed in all three albums that makes them stand apart from other popular music, that can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it’s because their songs aren’t ‘dance anthems’, or the fact that the lyrics hold more than going to parties and meeting girls in clubs? In turn, it could be that they’re a proper band, and the music isn’t just synthesised on a computer? Actually, I think it’s a combination of these factors. I really love some of Vampire Weekends older songs, like Horchata, Cousins and Oxford Comma.

But, they’re new record is just as good, I think. In some aspects, a few songs are comical, whilst others have historical and cultural elements weaved into the lyrics. Others have gloomier values, like Diane Young or ‘Dying Young’. Hannah Hunt is just plain weird. I think this variation within the album really brings something to it, so you never get bored, for want of a better word, despite the similarity of the actual music. That probably made no sense.

The vocals, from Ezra Koenig, are also (obviously) extremely important, and I think since their last album, his voice has noticeably developed and grown, and he sounds great on MVOTC, and the backing music supports his voice really well. His lyrics do tend to be somewhat ambiguous and obscure, but the overall quality of the music make up for the lack of understanding I have. I’m being honest here!

This was much harder to write than I initially anticipated, but I stuck to it and persevered, and this is what I ended up with :)