In ‘serious’ music criticism, artists being pretentious is not often seen as an admirable quality. Pretentiousness is normally cast as the enemy of the authentic. That to be pretentious is to be fake. That the perceived exaggeration of greatness when considering such music and performance is ‘dishonest’ and that if music isn’t ‘honest’ and ‘real’ then somehow it isn’t heartfelt and capable of giving meaning to lives.
Thankfully I’m not a ‘serious’ music critic and I think this argument is bollocks. I really dislike the idea of certain types of music being more ‘real’ and ‘honest’ than others. The ‘real music’ argument is the sort of argument generally thrown around by boring middle-aged rock and folk dudes who don’t understand that pop, disco, dance, electronic, jazz or any other genre that doesn’t fit their blinkered narrow world view of ‘real music’ can be just as important, just as life changing, as some earnest bearded guy with a guitar. I'm all for pretentiousness.
Music and more generally speaking, art, needs to strive for greatness and that means creators need to believe that what they are doing is important, and therefore they will be perceived as pretentious, because if they aren't, how are they ever going to push boundaries and create something exciting and new? Otherwise all we’ll be left with is bland copies of what has already gone before.
David Bowie for example was arguably incredibly pretentious – just look at Ziggy Stardust, his strutting soul boy attitude of Young Americans or his later day jazz influence on Black Star – all completely pretentious, yet all completely brilliant. Pop was all the better for it.
However, what isn’t good for pop is pretentious rubbish. Whilst some of the best pop music comes from the leftfield there’s a lot of pretentious music that is total crap. Just because Bjork or Thom Yorke farts into a microphone and calls it a symphony doesn’t automatically make it brilliant.
It’s on that basis that I introduce to Breaking More Waves the UK six piece that go by the name of Black Country, New Road. It is very easy to describe what Black Country, New Road do as pretentious. After all, they’re not making regular mainstream pop music that you’ll find on daytime radio. I’ll be surprised if you hear their music on anything but the most progressive of radio stations. Their sound incorporates elements of jazz, improvisation, rock, some influences from Eastern Europe and North Africa, keyboards, violin, saxophone, spoken word and weird jerky rhythms. It’s not easy listening by any means and therefore unsurprising that they have already been supported by more alternative music websites such as The Quietus and have played with the likes of Omar Souleyman, Goat Girl and Duds.
The band formed from the ashes of the group Nervous Conditions, who split following allegations of sexual misconduct against their lead singer Connor Browne on social media. And whilst Black Country, New Road has yet to officially release any studio material the group has already picked up some music industry backing with the likes of a booking agent in place. This week they are playing as part of The Line of Best Fit’s 5 Day Forecast at The Lexington in London on the 18th January.
Whilst we wait to hear the band’s recordings, for now there’s a twenty-minute live video of one of their gigs at The Windmill in Brixton that’s doing the rounds and getting a favourable reaction. On this you’ll see the band work their way through their warped sonic journey that starts with a spoken word intro that dives into the algorithmic romance of the internet, skipping through You Tube: “I don’t have to search because the suggestions bar guides me – the suggestions bar knows me better than ever before and it almost like love,” and Instagram: “Tanned bikini bodies of girls that I knew from secondary school who exist now to me only as ornaments,” before exploding in a melee of heavy rock riffage and witchy jazz. That’s all just in the first four minutes.
Pretentious? Well, if you perceive it to be so, absolutely. But it's all the better for it.
Black Country, New Road - Live At The Windmill
2 comments:
I can see why you're unfunded. Being a fan of pretentiousness is pretty bad. Knocking people who have a stance on "real music" right after you yourself make fun of the idea of "real music criticism". There's enough music bloggers in the world, why don't you give it up and do something useful with your life.
Hi unknown.
"Being a fan of pretentiosness is pretty bad" - Not for me it isn't. You are of course entitled to your own view.
I'm not making fun of real music criticism by the way - I'm saying that all music is equally as valid - it's no more 'real' or 'less real' than any other sort of music.
"There's enough new music bloggers in the world why don't you give up and do something useful with your life?" Do you actually know what I do with the whole of my life? Have you ever considered that I might spend a lot of my time away from my life doing something 'useful' working in public service for example? Have you ever thought that other people might enjoy my blog and that some musicians are grateful for the coverage I give in a space where it's hard to get any?
Oh and the reason I'm unfunded? Because I choose this as a hobby and value independence of thought. Which means I might write something that you don't like.
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