Bathos - Aarni

Advantages: Raw and dirty
Disadvantages: A bit over the top

...Of The Street (She’s a queen of the street, what a piece of meat) and the scathing London Lady being particularly offensive. The Stranglers’ macho posturing, as moronic as that of the worst heavy metal bands, lapsed so readily into bathos, however, that it seemed obviously satirical. These deliberatley crass songs, most of them boasting fine melodies and all of them beautifully played, smacked of sexual rejection by women of impotent men (hence the ferocious Ugly by way of revenge). This was hardly something the oh so virile Stranglers would admit themselves, but it was arguable that they were striking attitudes on behalf of their pre-dominantly male audience rather than espousing a sexist cause.... Read review

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Advantages: Its something brilliantly different
Disadvantages: Lacks the mass market appeal of different class

...This is Pulp's equivalent to Blur's eponymous release, showing a darker and far less commercial side to their music. For the most part, the record is too inaccessible to be cherished, but their bravery is commendable, and songs like "Dishes" and (especially) the title track really grow on you. Jarvis Cocker does exactly what Damon Albarn does on "Blur" and messes up the popular image of himself, perhaps deliberately to make himself less well-loved. He feels isolated and under threat by celebrity, society and "The Fear". He develops a (hopefully tongue-in-cheek) Jesus complex on the afore-mentioned "Dishes", comparing his initials and age to Christ's, whilst adding his usual healthy dose of bathos. This record is worth buying for the title track alone. Encompassing everything from disco to Krautrock to Velvet Underground to Serge... Read review

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Advantages: Thoughtful, melodic, inventive songs
Disadvantages: A couple of dumb thrash tracks

...'s usually an ironic undertow to give the songs bite. The wistful cocktail of 'Prom Theme' is spiked with a sobering shot of reality: "Here we are at last / The moment soon will pass / We'll go our separate ways... We'll grow old and lose our hair / It's all downhill from there." 'Denise' is a swipe at love song conventions, the lyrics poking fun at the subject and his object of desire: "She drives a lavender Lexus / She lives in Queens but her dad lives in Texas". The choruses, with their sha-la-las, use pop clichés to point up the silliness of infatuation. The title song's tale of a small-time would-be rock musician, exposes the bathos of unrealistic teenage dreams ("I'll get some paper and a staple gun / And put my name in front of everyone"). There's the odd bum note. 'Laser Show', with its 70s glam rock guitars and knowingly dumb lyrics is... Read review

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