Tell your mamamama…
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[5.50]
Kat Stevens: Since the Tories got in last year, mainstream UK pop has mostly been concerned with wearing expensive sunglasses on the way to the club. The current glut of newly-successful rappers are either oblivious to how shit things are becoming or trying to provide some escapism, while the next generation of popstars are being trampled on before they can even get going. Pessimism has found at least two pop voices in 2011 though: Rizzle Kicks and Joe McElderry are unlikely bedfellows but have both put out heartbreaking tracks about their fading ambitions. They share a glum outlook on their future careers, both having seen the promise of a Way Out snatched from in front of them (this is where I insert a joke about how it should have been the other EMA that was scrapped). They’re not just complaining about their current situation, they’re giving up on things ever getting better! Ouch. It’s only the incredibly cheerful arrangement of both Joe and Rizzle’s tracks that’s keeping them from sticking their heads in the oven. This zero-sum depression-avoidance game also explains why Radiohead were only allowed to release “Lucky” in 1997.
[7]
Hazel Robinson: Rizzle Kicks are capable of suspiciously awesome things, even with Olly Murs, but this is a retreat away from their dubbier tracks into a ska default. Or maybe non-default exploration into ska — it’s hard to really credit something falling into such generic (if extremely well executed) territory with invention.
[5]
Anthony Easton: Fantastic chorus, and I like how “youngster” sounds like “young star,” so the fading of ambition and exhaustion of old age makes it cleaner — the irony of its energy is also well noted.
[6]
Pete Baran: Hold on, weren’t Rizzle Kicks down on the trumpets last time? Well here they pull a decent looped fanfare out of their kitbag to prop up a flyweight track about lost ambition, which seems almost twee next to the braggadocio of the current pop grime superstars. It’s partially the lightness that makes this work, partially the sentiment. Seems a bit wrong for November though; a gust of wind and it will blow away.
[6]
Brad Shoup: I felt compelled to note that both men are still only 19, and thus a little underqualified to talk about squandered plans, but there may be a sliver of economic lament in the tale (the second verse acknowledges their current career, but the first finds Rizzle idle on a bench). But while I’m fine with Rizzle Kicks’ usual sleepish mode, this straight lament is an odd extension, even if undercut with a shiny pop-jungle track.
[5]
Jer Fairall: “Revolution Rock” samples so easily and obviously that I’m frankly amazed that it took this long to happen. This hip-pop confection is mostly content to ride along on its source’s spirited, jubilant wave, and although the lyrics are moping a bit too much, I mostly am too.
[7]
Alfred Soto: Better kiddie pop than “Pass the Dutchie,” and “Revolution Rock” proves its malleability.
[6]
Zach Lyon: I’m never one to complain about samples, but… at best, this makes me switch it to “Revolution Rock.” At worst, this makes me want to never hear “Revolution Rock” again.
[2]