Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
If we tell it like it really is, we are likely to alienate a cross selection of people without really trying; whether it comes in the form of an expressed well-researched opinion, or a generalisation that has been brought on by a wider view, the fine line between acceptable discussion and outright personal attack comes just down to the way and how far we are willing to go, to love the corporate machine.
How we see Emily play, how Arnold Layne got his kicks, and we follow them to their end, and the reason is because of music, whether we buy it as a consequence of the digital download, brought but never truly owned, or we go all in and head for the dedication and the space devourer of the vinyl experience; in the end it matters not, as long as two rules apply, 1: you love what you listen too, and 2: you haven’t bought into the machine, the consumer agitation.
The Bordellos are a force of nature when it comes too, in their own words, being contrary, but as they discuss without fear the reasons for bringing the album, I Hate Pink Floyd Without Syd Barrett to the public’s attention.
The idea of a Record Store Day is one that divides, yes it brings people into the store, yes it will add much needed profit in the margin at a time when everything worth living for is slowly being denied one and all, but it has been hijacked by the corporation, by the machine.
And so, as the music lover is torn in their search for the golden needle which plays a Jugband Blues or the pleasure of their version of the psychedelic experience, so to do The Bordellos bring their rebellious, beautifully defiant side out for a time in the clouded skies of popular opinion.
Music is more than a product, art is more than and detailed expression of a fifty-pound note exchanging hands, it is the cornerstone, the very fabric of what makes our souls content, it is what makes life worth living, it makes it extraordinary, and as tracks such as Pandora, Star Shaped Radio, Emote Remote Emotion, and Tesco Chain Store Massacre, what comes across is a truth, just a single strand in a multitude of legitimate exacting honesty, but nonetheless as powerful as any, is that we need to find a finer way to live, to harness the energy of the art creative rather than plough a furrow to the door of those who seek to gouge and take over all that is beautiful with the idea of making obscene amounts of money.
Punk is not a fashion statement to be discarded, Punk is not a one off-act of rebellion, it is a course of action that defies time, it confronts and disobeys monetary takeover over the soul, of not selling out to the machine; and long live The Bordellos for being contrary and awkward enough to stand firm. I Hate Pink Floyd Without Syd Barrett is the album to purchase without feeling coerced and fed to the machine.
Ian D. Hall