On “The Boys Are British” by The Pheromoans
–
In which our UTR love-fest continues unabated, but don’t worry, you’re not witnessing some sort of gross, cross-brand content synergy or whatever. While researching Upset The Rhythm for an article-in-progress, I spent a ton of time revisiting the label’s back catalog (which for the most part is wall-to-wall golden). I realized that many of their releases flew way under the radar in the States, and thought I’d better devote a chunk of the most recent Ship/Shape/Sunday to some of their classics. When compiling the mix, I found myself geeking out over the last The Pheromoans record (Does This Guy Stack Up?, UTR, 2012). That led to some googling, which led to their new single, then to obsessive listening on repeat. The song seemed much too good to bury in a mix, so I decided to devote several hundred words to it this week. Well, here we are, a piece about “The Boys Are British,” the lead single off of the upcoming The Pheromoans LP, Hearts of Gold.
Nearly everything about The Pheromoans’ outsider pop is in shambles, but that’s OK. I’m pretty much always on board with bands that present a sort of intelligent ineptitude. This is partially an instinctual response, I think. Like rooting for your own species (please don’t ask me to draw a horse). But it’s also very much a preference. I like music unvarnished and a little blemished. I’m of the opinion that too much time (and money) spent in the studio generally makes things less clear, obfuscating the original ideas, shifting the primary focus from communication to the surface finish, thereby making any approach in opposition to studio excess political in it’s own small way. Right now, we’re 35 years on from The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen and A Trip to Marineville, but, for some reason, their lo-fi, egalitarian, DIY MO seems as fresh as ever when employed today by bands like The Pheromoans. My take is that it’s an approach to record-making still on and of the fringe, somewhat anti-fashion, never dated, never retro. It’s about access vs. exclusivity, communication vs. commerce. I’ve never been partial to records that, more than anything, sound like money being spent.
Now, when I casually dropped “intelligent ineptitude” back there, what I was really getting at was the illusion of ineptitude. It’s always, at least to some degree, an aesthetic choice to keep things raw and a bit naive, but more than that, the modifier “intelligent” is indicative of aptitude. Which is to say, the intelligence and sense of humor inherent to The Pheromoans is aptitude. Besides, flaunting technical skill can be a crutch. Art produced within the boundaries set by limitations is often more compelling for the problem-solving required to subvert those bonds into assets. Being able to think is always more important than being able to shred. And it’s clear from the first bar of “The Boys Are British” that our boys aren’t exactly normative thinkers.
The song opens with metronomic, slightly agitated keyboard pokes overlaid by slack guitar strums and unhurried, bent chords. It’s an exercise in contrasting vibes, neurotic anxiety eventually overcoming any sense of calm in two nearly identical (nervous) breakdowns that punctuate both halves of the song, which are, in themselves, also nearly identical. The key difference being that, following the first mental break, the balance between relaxation and agitation has shifted not-so-subtly in favor of the latter.
Lyrically, the song is brilliant, beginning with a brief rumination on respect and reciprocation, before abruptly shifting gears to detail, as far as I can tell, a friendship strained by boozin’ & BO on one side and a martial obsession borne out of Predator on the other. It’s weirdly touching, cutting, and hilarious. At the end, nasal and British: “You saaaaaaaaaaaw Predatoooooo-oo-or…"
Monday morning, when I played this song for K, she said to me, ”Intelligent ineptitude? This song sounds great. What do you mean inept?“ Then, a little later, "Wait, there are six guys in this band? It took six guys to make this?” I guess if there’s strength in numbers, there’s hope for everyone, provided we use our heads. "The Boys Are British" is one of the best songs of the year.
–
The Pheromoan's Hearts of Gold is out in June. It is available for pre-order through Upset The Rhythm.
–
Bernie Brooks is Ship’s editor-at-large and SE Michigan correspondent. Send him records, tapes, zines, and prints: bernie [at] shipinthewoods [dot] com