Local post-punk band Static Caravan releases debut single ‘Caricatures’
Late last month saw the release of ‘Caricatures’, the debut single by the University of Leeds’s very own Static Caravan. This is the group’s second release after the demo tapes The Fifa Demos were released in February. I must admit, I was initially apprehensive when ‘Caricatures’ was announced as the band’s first single as I saw it as one of the weaker tracks included on The Fifa Demos – whilst still a good song, I would have assumed the debut single to be ‘Turbostar’ or ‘Prior Engagements’. In actuality, though, I need not have worried as ‘Caricatures’ turned out to be a brilliant track which sounds worlds better than the version included on the demo tape.
The first thing that strikes you upon listening to ‘Caricatures’ is the quality bassline supplied by Matt Purbick which acts as a main source of the driving energy throughout the track. This is quickly followed by the electronic influence from Mia Windsor’s keyboard work which adds a whole new invaluable dimension to the track. The rest of the band then erupts into a beautifully moody, driving post-punk anthem with lyrics that are depressingly relevant to the current state of affairs. One of the things that is so appreciable about this track – along with the rest of the band’s music – is the importance placed upon the lyrical content of the songs. It seems to be a growing trend across the span of musical genres that lyrics are somewhat secondary to the music, so to hear the skilful lyricism of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack O’Conner is a wonderful thing.
Static Caravan recently played a support slot for Bunkerpop at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds. Having been eager to see the group for some time, I went along to the show. Unfortunately, guitarist Tom Owen was absent from the set and the crowd was disappointingly sparse, but otherwise it was a brilliant set. The band are excellent live, the power and anger of their recorded tracks is amplified by the performance of the group. As their Hyde Park gig showed, they cannot even be slowed down by a broken guitar string causing lead vocalist and guitarist Jack had to switch to a back-up instrument supplied by Bunkerpop. Perhaps it was simply due to my positioning in relation to the stage, but it seemed that the keys become more prevalent when Static Caravan play live – Mia’s synth work was retro-sounding, experimental influenced, almost Kraftwerk-esque at points, and it shone through within the performance more so than it does within the studio tracks. My only gripe with the gig was that the saxophone which made the live recording of ‘Turbostar’ – which was included within The Fifa Demos – so loveable was absent from this particular performance. I hope that when the band record this track for an official release, the horns are included to their full capacity.
The so-called ‘post-punk scene’ is becoming increasingly saturated and, frankly, dull. Whereas a decade ago, there were an uncountable number of bands attempting to be Arctic Monkeys, now there is an uncountable number of bands attempting to be Fontaines D.C., or Black Midi or even – tragically – IDLES. It is for this reason why Static Caravan are so refreshing; they aren’t particularly trying to be anything they aren’t. Perhaps due to the background in experimental music that some band members possess, their music is oozing with originality and, although you can clearly tell who their influences were, never appears to be platitudinal or uninteresting. Hopefully, ‘Caricatures’ will be the first of many first-rate tracks released by Static Caravan.
