The Bristol duo’s second album is a showcase in musical transgression; an acquired taste of self-deprecating immediacy.
There’s something awfully familiar about the emergence of a new group from the Bristol scene offering scathing social commentary on modern Britain through a DIY, post-punky sound. Ten years ago it was IDLES, as they burst onto the scene with their somewhat muddled perspectives on class struggles in the UK. As has become clear for those operating in the business of transgression, sincerity is the natural enemy of authenticity. If you really want to make a splash without risking your own dignity, then you’re best off using the trusted method of ironic self-detachment.
The latest group to emerge from this evergreen breeding ground for taking a musical swing at social inequality is the self-proclaimed ‘power-disco’ duo Getdown Services. Formed by friends Ben Sadler and Josh Law, they sit at a bit of a sonic intersection; combining ’70s disco with a punk-esque ironic self-hatred. The initial results were a quite addictive blend of irreverent humour and affable grooves.
On their second album Massive Champion, they retain this unique fusion whilst adding a more tender dimension. Of course, that sound is undercut by the deliberately ridiculous lyrical content. It’s an interesting strategy; addressing working class alienation and existential mundanity by reminding listeners that life at the bottom of the social pile is no less authentic or satisfying. If anything, it’s worse.
Opening track Poor Bannister describes a public bus journey in which an old woman falls asleep and man throws up on himself, all while the detached observer tries not to stare too hard. The jury’s still out on what exactly that’s a metaphor for. Cha Cha Slide and What’s On Your Mind? sit somewhere in the middle of indie-rock and disco between the smooth grooves and shimmering guitars. And there’s standout tracks The Radiator and I Can’t Die Like That, which are Getdown Services at their most infectious. It’s virtually impossible not to feel your shoulders starting to wiggle.
Their debut album Crisps landed through its refreshing originality and entirely self-written, self-produced and self-recorded come to being. You’d have been forgiven for laughing through the album whilst believing that this well-timed project might not be built for longevity. But their sophomore album seems to challenge that notion by expanding on their own ambition without relinquishing the bland authenticity which gives their sound a unique edge.
Possibly the reason why it all lands so well is that Law and Sadler’s detachment doesn’t feel even remotely contrived. Playing the role of dissident rejectionist can sell records, a strategy which many anti-establishment groups have been able to manipulate over the years. But for a group to maintain their own dignity whilst simultaneously ripping it to shreds in their music and, in the case of Getdown Services, through their live performances, it points to something fairly unique. Whether their lifespan will be a long one or not remains to be seen, but if Massive Champion is anything to go by, you’d say there’s plenty of life still to suffer through.
