Adult DVD - Adult DVD
“I eat off paper plates 'cause I love to waste // Recycle this, you b***h, chuck it straight in the sea // Watch that turtle choke on my green energy"
Yes. It has happened. In what might be the most shocking thing ever, the phrase, ‘Adult DVD,’ has become yet more exciting with the release of the band’s self-titled album. Not only that, as far as anyone can tell, it’s the first ethically produced product labelled ‘Adult DVD.’
The Mic's Ed Dyer reports on Adult DVD's long-overdue debut album! Reader discretion is advised.
Dance-infused post-punk six-piece Adult DVD are quickly becoming one of the most bouncy, animated emerging bands in the UK. After endorsements from names such as Elton John and Anthony Fantano, and a very highly regarded live show (which graces Nottingham very soon), any self-respecting music hipster surely must have come across this name recently, and for good reason. Off the back of their second EP, Next Day Shipping, a fun selection of songs built on film references, grooves, and a party-hard attitude, Adult DVD venture into the world of Length Play releases. And what a mighty venture it is...
This album expands on their established sound, incorporating an even more diverse range of influences. Tracks like Do As I Please or All I Need hit the vintage, let-loose, danceable side of the band’s repertoire – whereas Real Tree Lee and World’s Best Boss explore a fairly new, lyrically cynical, post-punk influenced side of their music. The former of these two tracks ought to be regarded as one of the best songs of the year. The high-pitch riffs supporting the 80s pop synths which fluctuate into an 8-bit techno mesh throughout the song, culminating into a hard-hitting drop after a teasing bridge into the line, ‘he knows it ain’t legal!’ combine into a thrilling melting pot of Radio 6 Post-Punk. Melting pot-punk, if you will.
This album manages to fluctuate seamlessly between these two sides of the band and I think this translates best on the track Coffin Dodger which revolves around a peculiarly relatable desire to witness your own funeral, whilst incorporating their own brand of humour with the self-aware repetition of, ‘call me egotistical, I wanna see my funeral.’ Instrumentally, it is a very upbeat song, yet it speaks to a pertinent cultural and philosophical issue of extreme self-awareness. Exacerbated by the ubiquitousness of social media making almost anything observable, the humour in this song feels as though it’s a product of a time where everyone feels a sense of security in their ability to involve themselves in anything relevant to them, and an odd sense of discomfort is felt when this security is impossible to access.
… Or, perhaps, this was a song written in a single afternoon with subconscious influences that I’m entirely misplacing.
Nevertheless, the post-punk elements of their music naturally incur deeper discussion in virtue of the political and poetic nature of the lyricism characteristic of this genre. Similar discussions could be raised about Cold Caller which references distant loneliness in digital work. Additionally, Minimal Criminal satirises the naïve, absurd attitudes of anti-environmentalists in what is possibly the most humorous song on this album. In many ways, this project simultaneously recognises and ignores the chaotic and draining societal context it needs to separate itself from to create the lively, buoyant atmosphere it does.
Not seeking to disregard the electronic, techno, and pop influences of this album, some of the songs would not feel out of place amongst the work of The Prodigy. Namely, Jesus Christ Supercar (a play on the title of the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar), and All I Need. Mostly distanced from The Prodigy in that they utilise a little-known concept which seems alien across their discography, known as ‘using more than 4 different lines,’ but there are detectable similarities between the two of them sonically. Additionally, there are subtle influences in their music from the likes of New Order and The Dare which, when combined, create a much more palatable combination than they would seem. In terms of their BBC Radio 6 contemporaries, picture a cross between the dynamic vibrance of Fat Dog and the cultural cynicism of The Itch.
All in all, this is a very good debut album by a band showing a lot of promise. From turning the works of Bill Murray and Tom Hanks into a party anthem, to making social commentaries danceable, Fat Possum Records and six blokes from Leeds have managed to make Adult DVDs cool again… Or, more realistically, for the first time.
Ed Dyer
Edited by Suzannah Bedford
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