The Ordinary Boys - OverThe Counter Culture

Wed 4th May, 2005 in Music Reviews

I mean, really. With a band name like this – unless you’re the most revolutionary group modern music has ever known - you’re going to have some jokes. Imagine the headlines now: “The Ordinary Boys produce an ordinary album!” “Ordinary live show fails to win fans!” And, for NME, “Ordinary Boys’ ordinary hair day!”

And unfortunately for the four-piece from Worthing, England, their debut album Over The Counter Culture is nothing to write home about. Falling perfectly into the contemporary indie band circa 2005 mould, The Ordinary Boys offer music which is easy on the ear, toe-tappingly catchy but ultimately won’t stick with you an hour after you’ve turned off your stereo.

Inspired by The Kinks, The Jam and The Smiths (vocalist Preston’s voice bears more than that of a slight resemblance to Morrissey’s voice, albeit a much cheerier Morrissey), The Ordinary Boys’ sound is distinctively British. Preston’s ‘Chav’ pronunciation of words ensures that they’ll get a spot on the next Best of Chav compilation alongside The Futureheads, The Streets and Goldie Lookin’ Chain. There’s not a single thing about the album which could have been released anywhere but the UK. It maintains a slightly cocky swagger throughout, while some tracks like Talk Talk Talk are custom-made for swilling lagers: full of punchy riffs and shouty call-and-response bits. (“How’s the weather? / Plain and boring! / Back to work on / Monday morning!”)

Opener and title track Over The Counter Culture sums up The Ordinary Boys perfectly, and introduces the album’s recurrent theme about the band’s seemingly irrational fear of anything mainstream. “You try to sever your ties with the London skies / But you’ve got the whole thing wrong,” sings Preston. “Last year’s scheme was a terrible dream / this new fad will fade.” Considering that this album was released in the UK in June 2004, one can assume that ‘last year’s fad’ refers to, well, pretty much anything released in the UK in 2003.

The state of contemporary rock is blatantly dismissed in The List Goes On: “Radio play just depresses me today / why is it so throwaway? / media press has become an utter mess / the opinions of failed pop stars” (hey! I take offence to that!). The song’s chorus of “originality is so passé” seems more than slightly hypocritical given the band’s indie-by-numbers (and NME photo shoots and participation in the magazine’s Brit Pack tour, and live sessions on popular London radio stations). Is it some tongue-in-cheek ironic statement acknowledging the band’s popularity with 15 year olds who love Jet, or do The Ordinary Boys genuinely believe what they preach? My confusion is such that I almost miss the fact that musically, The List Goes On a truly cracking track.

Of course, it’s not all bad news. The soft-paced Just A Song features some acoustic strumming and the rather amusing chorus: “This song is not cathartic / because I’ve done nothing wrong / It’s just a song.” Little Bitch, despite its slightly misogynist title and overtones (“your little pink up-pointed nose begins to twitch / I know you’re just a little bitch!”), is a rollicking, Madness-inspired ska song which would no doubt be a highlight at any Ordinary Boys gig. Breakup song In Awe Of The Awful offers “the words ‘I love you’ fill awkward silences,’ over a swinging beat. But even the band’s so-called softer moments sound like geezer anthems or football chants.

There is nothing awful about the 12 tracks on Over The Counter Culture. There’s nothing excessively offensive, nothing which will make me tell my friends about how I heard ‘a really awful album.’ But on the flipside, there’s nothing I find exciting enough about the album to rave about it either. The Ordinary Boys are more deserving of the accolades they’ve received in the UK than many other bands out there, however they lack the quirkiness of The Futureheads, the wit of the Kaiser Chiefs, the danceability factor of Bloc Party or the “it’s like watching a car crash” interview antics of Johnny from Razorlight. There’s enough promise on Over The Counter Culture to suggest that maybe The Ordinary Boys will release a great album, however, this is not it. What would I know, anyway? Isn’t media press just an utter mess?