Cast your mind back, if you will, to when you were a wee nipper at school. Like me, you will no doubt be able to recall numerous instances where you were forced to sing in public. An inexplicable warbling donkey in the nativity play? Trilling ‘Please sir, can I have some more?’ in the choirmaster’s over-ambitious production of Oliver? Ring any bells? For me it was having to sing in music grade exams…those traumas were a major factor in why my trumpet now lies rusting in the basement. Although horrifying at the time, scarring experiences such as these play an important function in our personal development – they teach those of us that sing like startled cattle to keep our mouths shut and learn the bass guitar instead.
But what of those unfortunate few who lie in the grey area? The Mobys of this world who can sort of hold a tune? Sometimes the gamble pays off, but most of the time it doesn’t. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard a good demo or album that has been scuppered by average vocals. Quite frankly, it gets my goat.
And so we come to 100 Bullets Back’s self-released second LP, ‘A duty to Yourself and thy Neighbour’. The record retains the familiar electro-pop sound of 100BB’s earlier work, but with a heavier, dirtier edge running across most of the album. There are some good moments here to uncover; standout track ‘All These DJs’ throws a grinding, meaty baseline round a pounding 4-to-the-floor beat, while the ambient synth swathes at the end of ‘German Dancing Musik’ are beautifully poised. There’s a good bit of variety on show too; in ‘Never Meant A Thing’ we’re handed a down-tempo, reverb-drenched ballad, while there’s even a spot of grimey dubstep in ‘Michael’s Holiday’. Too often, however, what would otherwise be perfectly decent slabs of danceable electro are confounded by bland vocals, delivered in a style perhaps best described as “speaking with gusto”. More often that not, the vocals are distorted and run through a highpass frequency filter, the bread-and-butter production technique of dodgy post-punk singers the world over. The end result sounds like a bored Damon Albarn crossed with the guy from The Bravery (anyone remember ‘An Honest Mistake?’). Occasionally, when the distortion and filters are off, the vocals don’t sound too bad – ‘Never Meant A Thing’ in particular is a good example. However, 100BB are definitely at their best when the voices are absent – it’s perhaps revealing that the brilliant Coloureds remix of ‘All These DJs’ (featured on the recent Oxbands podcast) only makes minimal use of the original vocal track. Another real problem with the album is that it just feels too long – at fifty two minutes it’s hardly ‘Sandinista’, but by the time you get to track 7 or 8 things really start to drag.
‘A duty to Yourself and thy Neighbour’ left me with the impression that, dubious vocals or not, this set of tracks would make a great live show. 100BB are no strangers to live music in Oxford, having been key architects of the popular Abort, Retry, Fail? night, and it would be great to see them follow up their appearance at The Cellar in April with a few more local shows. All in all though, 100 Bullets Back have missed the mark with these recordings. With some better production and trimming of the flabbier edges, this could have been a triumphant return for David Clayton and Noel Pearson. As it stands, this album feels like an opportunity squandered.