Sometimes it’s hard to fathom ‘joke’ bands. It’s nothing to do with sense of humour (I’m sure some would refute this but I’m pretty certain I have one of those). It’s nothing to do with begrudging anyone having fun. It’s just, sometimes humour doesn’t translate all that well into the musical spectrum. This is certainly the feeling you get from the debut offering from Derby based Autocue.
‘Line Please…’ is an oddity. Firstly, it’s very much a mini-album of two sides, by which I don’t mean it’s a seven-inch with an ‘A’ side and a ‘B’ side but rather it’s an album that requires the music and lyrics to be regarded completely separately. Secondly, it’s seeped in varying musical styles that at times may have your eyebrow raised in puzzlement.
Lyrically this release is horrible. It’s the lyrics that lend themselves to the joke aspect of the band and after one listen it really takes some determination to play it again. ‘The Die-Sun Exploration’ looks at using a vacuum cleaner for personal pleasure; ‘Coming Out of the Closet (John’s Gay)’ is the type of playground jibe I bet everybody thought they’d left behind them at school; and ‘Just How Old is Michaela Strachan?’ is an ode to the 80’s kiddies TV icon. And that’s just some of the content. It’s all meant humorously but manages to fall flat and come across wearisome.
Putting the CD in the player for a second time though proves to be favourable. Lyrics aside there is some solid music here. Divvying-up some pop punk, ska brass, the odd metal riff and, in the case of ‘The 5:50 at Naked Derby’, some faux reggae grooves Autocue is very much a musical smelting pot. It appears the band likes a wide range of music and wants to try its hand at everything. It’s a bold move that does prove a little bit of a hinderance. It’s not that the band doesn’t know what it wants to be, I’m pretty certain this is exactly what was planned, it’s just that the mish-mash of styles tends to come across somewhat convoluted. Still there’s some solid musicianship here.
Ultimately this is the type of record that would sound better after a heavy night out when the party needs a slight injection of hysteria. I dare say it’s easy to imagine an alcohol soaked evening watching the band live would incite a few shout along recitations in the local kebab house. It just feels a little too juvenile for the sober world though. And for the record, Michaela Strachan turned 43 at the beginning of this month. Now you know.
Alex