ANCHOR LANE
One single... one song... a new Scottish band called Anchor Lane. Hmmm... under three minutes in length, there's not much to get my ears around here. Although there is plenty of meat on the song, which occupies a kind of ambiguous ground between punk, retro hard rock and trad metal. Idioms from each genre can be heard, but without the band ever really committing to one or the other. Not a criticism, I hasten to add; rather more an observation on the song’s raw rock ‘n’ roll impetus, which is actually quite likeable.
Titled 'Fame Shame', the song is apparently a condemnation of "society's fascination with technology and social media"… although it’s pretty useful for self-promotion in the twenty first century, lads, no? Okay, I get it; they’re chastising people’s use of social media, rather than social media in itself. Fair enough. Although De Staat’s ‘Pikachu’ from earlier this year offered up a far more cunning critique. And I was going to say the subject matter is old hat… but people’s obsession persists. Fifty per cent of people seem to stare at social media apps on their smart phones when walking down the street, while expecting the other fifty per cent of society to maintain a sense of their surroundings and not crash into them. And don’t get me started on the social media addicts that stand at a public urinal, using one hand for pissing purposes and the other to scroll away on mindless streams of inane posts. Fuck, they’ve got me ranting now. And humming along to their damn infectious tune, which I’ve had playing away on loop in the background while writing this.
Produced by Toby Jepson, the onetime Little Angels frontman, it has a nice resonant sound, is competently performed and, as I’ve found out through looping the bloody thing, it’ll now be my earworm for the next goddam however many hours and days. Bring on the album, boys, bring on the album.
Titled 'Fame Shame', the song is apparently a condemnation of "society's fascination with technology and social media"… although it’s pretty useful for self-promotion in the twenty first century, lads, no? Okay, I get it; they’re chastising people’s use of social media, rather than social media in itself. Fair enough. Although De Staat’s ‘Pikachu’ from earlier this year offered up a far more cunning critique. And I was going to say the subject matter is old hat… but people’s obsession persists. Fifty per cent of people seem to stare at social media apps on their smart phones when walking down the street, while expecting the other fifty per cent of society to maintain a sense of their surroundings and not crash into them. And don’t get me started on the social media addicts that stand at a public urinal, using one hand for pissing purposes and the other to scroll away on mindless streams of inane posts. Fuck, they’ve got me ranting now. And humming along to their damn infectious tune, which I’ve had playing away on loop in the background while writing this.
Produced by Toby Jepson, the onetime Little Angels frontman, it has a nice resonant sound, is competently performed and, as I’ve found out through looping the bloody thing, it’ll now be my earworm for the next goddam however many hours and days. Bring on the album, boys, bring on the album.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
R7 Records
Single
FAME SHAME
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
02:45
RELEASE DATE:
11th October 2019
TRACK LISTING
1) Fame Shame
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"...there is plenty of meat on the song, which occupies a kind of ambiguous ground between punk, retro hard rock and trad metal."
