I first saw Chris T-T in 2009, supporting Frank Turner at Union Chapel. He was singing a ballad called ‘Ankles’, which was about breaking a woman’s ankles to stop her leaving. It’s safe to say I expected something equally offbeat from Chris T-T & The Hoodrats latest release.
I’ve listened to this album twice-a-day for a week and I still can’t decide if I like it or am indifferent to ‘The Bear’. Sounding like a mix of Art Brut, Andrew Jackson Jihad and a Blur album, ‘The Bear’ is messy and chaotic with the occasional lyrical gem thrown in.
Recorded in just 3 or 4 takes, this is not an album for those who favour slick production; it’s rambling and raw with more pop culture references than an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Opening with ‘1995’, which over five minutes, morphs from an almost spoken word piece to a faster-paced Britpop inspired song. Chris T-T’s singing style is similar to Art Brut, and if you don’t relish spoken-more-than-sang vocals, this is not the album for you. At times jarring, at times emotive, it somehow blends in well with the chaotic backing band.
The majority of the album plays like a 90’s throwback littered with modern celebrity and cultural namedrops. At times these raise a smile, with typical lines like “everything in this house that can be priced, is up on eBay”, but after ten tracks full of references to Lenny Henry and being an antidisestablishmentarian, it gets a bit samey. Chris T-T also favours the ridiculous extended metaphor and the album is filled with stuff like, “I’m wired as a box of wires with the fuse on fire”. At times it all seems a bit forced.
The highlights of this album are in the latter half, such as ‘Bury Me With a Scarab’ a surprisingly fun song about different death rituals across the world and returning from the grave. The standout track is ‘Jesus Christ’, an Andrew Jackon Jihad-esque number about Christianity with brilliant lines such as, “fear, secrets, abusing kids, they’ve got the morals of a dustbin lid” and “Jesus never said anything about the sex or the gays or any of that shit”. It shows that when on form, Chris T-T is capable of fun, to the point lyrics.
Overall this is a hit and miss album, while there are moments of greatness it feels a little too contrived and a little too forced. Chris T-T & The Hoodrats will undoubtedly be great fun to see live, but ‘The Bear’s parts never really gel together, instead feeling like two EP’s combined into an album. If you’re normally a fan of the Xtra Mile roster give it a go, otherwise this is not an essential listen.
3/5
’The Bear’ by Chris T-T & The Hoodrats is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings.
Chris T-T & The Hoodrats links: Website||Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Jay Sullivan
