Reverend And The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World (Wall of Sound)
3/5
By: Michael Cragg
There was always going to be a huge list of bands given the tag of 'the new Arctic Monkeys', and although Reverend And The Makers don't share the same sound they share a few connections and that maybe enough to raise interest. Singer Jon McClure's first band, Judan Suki, featured amongst its numbers both Alex Turner and Matt Helders who would later go on to form the Arctic Monkeys. The bands also share a management team and Reverend And The Makers have supported their mates on past tours. Also, in a recent interview for a UK music magazine Alex Turner settled down for a chat with British performance poet John Cooper Clarke, ruminating on their similar way with words, and its Cooper Clarke who adds his Northern brogue to the brief 'The Last Resort', a b-side on this the Reverend's debut single.
Musically, 'Heavyweight Champion Of The World' offer up a looser take on the Monkey's rock palette, allowing the bass line to dominate and carry the song through an assortment of keyboard flourishes and cowbell smatterings. It's closer to 'House Of Jealous Lovers' by The Rapture then 'I Bet The You Look Good On The Dancefloor'. The title is a line taken from McClure's favourite book, 'A Kestrel For A Knave' by Barry Hines, the story of a young boy struggling to find solace in his working class surroundings. McClure's version of the story offers up the same sense of longing for something different and a form of escape through dreams, but ends with the repetition of the line "Just be like everybody else".
B-side '18-30' beefs up the music to feature brooding beats, whilst lyrically it paints a picture of escapism via the drunken holidays favoured by the British, "I wanna get away on a holiday". What is clear is that McClure shares Alex Turner's eye for an interesting image and whilst his subject matter may not be as original (it's nothing new to critique 18-30s culture), it's a promising start.
Watch the video to 'Heavyweight Champion of the World' HERE.
Artists in this article: Reverend And The Makers
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