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ArrGee


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Band of the Day
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http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/12/cursor-major

Cursor Major (No 1,718)

Herky-jerky kooky pop for lovers of XTC, the Jags and Boomtown Rats
 background: We're giving his new outfit a leg-up because, like that hair product, they're worth it. There's a freshness to what they do, or at least they're as fresh as a band who recall the heyday of herky-jerky new wave pop can be. It seems fresh because no one's been doing this sort of thing for a while - since Mansun in the late-'90s or Futureheads et al in the mid-noughties. Their music recalls those bands that had their commercial moment, and appealed to the American market, after punk but that weren't necessarily post-punk: XTC, Squeeze, Costello, Talking Heads, Boomtown Rats, the Jags; music that eschewed self-conscious experimentation for bug-eyed lunacy, poppy hooks and a twitchy rhythmicity that meant it was often dismissed as quirky, clever-clever, smarmily ingratiating and infuriatingly infectious, as though those weren't qualities to aspire to.
Everything about Red Light Fever is rhythmical, from the snappy beats to the hiccupy vocals, which are totally early Geldof. That's how good Cursor Major are: they make you want to, perhaps for the first time in your life, dig out a copy of the Fine Art of Surfacing. Shhh.
 

 



-- Edited by ArrGee on Wednesday 12th of March 2014 09:10:36 PM

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noelindublin


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I always worry when bands are supposed to sound like XTC. Usually it means an annoying 'resemblance', which fails to work for me. Our old friend Laibach pointed me in  the way of Dogs Die In Hot Cars who sounded a bit like XTC by numbers but without any of the real thing. The lyrics certainly were not anything Andy Partridge would sign off on. Bands like The Futureheads are ok but will never get near the Swindon  mens colossal talent. Another XTC influenced band is They Might Be Giants but they do too many' humorous' songs which like a joke can be  funny once, but starts to grate when you've heard it a few times.

I don't think I want or need any band to sound like The Boomtown Rats when we can just  listen to the real thing. Ideally a band should have it's own sound, and not wear it's influences too prominently . Why Andy Norton need to whisper the Rats name as almost an apology is beyond me. But then we're used to that, being damned with faint praise etc.

Quick listen to Cursormajor and they do sound pretty good, but like all good scientists  say 'we need more research....'smile



-- Edited by noelindublin on Thursday 13th of March 2014 02:56:32 PM

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