I will start with a confession. I will start by admitting that it is the band/artist’s name that first caught my eye. History buffs and those in the political know will recognise the name Cable Street as the site of the encounter in London’s East End where Oswold Mosley’s British Union of Fascists were defeated a few years before the Second World War. I like a band that is aware of their history, especially when the band is an ocean away in the United States. It is a story that has become more pertinent and poignant in recent years.
Anyway…to horse.
Although overall Cable Street Riot doesn’t adhere to any one, single or consistent genre, in the long run, “Play Along” is the sound of the digital world merging, melding, or at least mimicking the analog sound. The result is a dense, post-punk wall of sonics, big, brutal, and brooding.
With the vocals slightly submerged in the music, especially when things fully kick in, it is hard to pinpoint the exact message, but the feeling of world-weary frustration is palpable. The redacted statement that forms the cover image might give us a hint at the source of the rage, but then there is so much to rage against these days, not just in their homeland but across the globe, that your guess is as good as mine.
But the important thing is that they are raging, “I’d rather scream than play along, “ they say, as shoegazy textures devour dance-fuelled electronica; this is rabble-rousing, rebellious music, a soundtrack to people who have had enough.
And it’s not so much a case of Brando in The Wild One when being asked, “What are you rebelling against?” replying with the iconic, “Whaddaya got?”. In today’s world, the more likely answer is …“How long have you got!”
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