Remember when songs were as much about telling stories as they were about making cool sounds? Remember when songs were populated by interesting characters and vivid locations? Remember when music had a sense of place? When it could mythologise the everyday into the stuff of (local) legend. Remember when music could do all of this and was still a lot of fun? The Early Swerve certainly does, and after a teasing string of excellent singles, the wonderfully named More People Than Teeth has arrived, and it is the most refreshing thing to happen in the music world in a long time.
More People Than Teeth feels like beat poetry for the dark underbelly of South London, a playground where lyricist Essex Moorcroft’s parade of “‘orrible bastards” and dodgy situations is every bit as evocative and defining as Kerouac’s road trips; where the works of John Osborne and Ken Loach are perfect touchstones, a place where Ian Dury and Fred Perry, Madness and Dr Marten are kings.
‘Past the Post’ sets the tone right from the off: a punk Chas ‘n’ Dave groove; the song’s character’s ducking and diving as the melodies ebb and flow; it is both joyous and dark, relatable and honest, staccato rhythms softened by a glorious gypsy jazz violin wandering through, it’s the sound of street-wise grooves dancing with more sophisticated sonics.
‘The Barn Dance’ is infectiously sing-along, wonderfully pub-speak, stories of the usual suspects doing the usual things on just another Saturday night down the pub; ‘We Take Our Time’ runs on that now familiar nu-skiffle bounce and ‘Father of the Chapel’ shows that the band’s knowledge of history is acute as they weave a tale of loyalty and betrayal on the steps of a print industry about to change forever. It’s all very British, very London…very south London, very urban and totally awesome.
And that would all be good enough, but among all the more obvious punk-folk, bop and roll, beer swilling, shout-alongs and sonic dust-ups, the wide boys and the all fur coat but no knickers chancers, there are some wonderfully unexpected moments. ‘Literary References’ is an understated, soul-infused folk ballad, all wide-screen vocal arrays and gentle melody; ‘Extra Time’ is a jazzy 5/4 swirl, feeling more like a 50s upmarket West End jazz bar than its actual south of the river origins; and ‘Release The Hounds’ is a beguiling mix of analogue manipulations, backwards tapes, radio noise and Dave MacKinnon’s reflective vocals.
More People That Teeth is a fantastic record, one that tells stories in a language whose directness and authenticity everyone will recognise, that mixes humour with gritty reality, that is full of brilliantly boisterous songs, but moments of introspection; its music is smarter than it seems and the lyrics weave together brilliant kitchen sink dramas every bit as vivid, violent, voracious and vulnerable as the writers that originated that literary tradition.
I wouldn’t say The Early Swerve are angry young men; I’ve met them; they are lovely, but they write about a world you might not want to wander into without your wits fully about you. Best you just buy the album!
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