Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Oxfam Glamour Models

Kick Out The Grams/Postmodern Stars

Label: Marquis Cha Cha Release Date: 24/04/2006

13507
holliy by holliy May 2nd, 2006

The Oxfam Glamour Models are on a one-band mission to stop rock music stinking quite so highly of scenesterism and smack, extolling the virtues of Stopping Being So Fucking Silly. And they intend to do so by means of the mediums of snide satire, explosive live shows, a love of the half of Brit Pop which hasn't yet been recycled to the point of inanity - and, of course, some rock'n'roll noise. The AA-side on here is a tad disappointing, sounding like something Suede never got round to writing and thus feeling a tad unexciting (although seeing as the song's about everything having been done before, maybe that's the whole point and I'm just not postmodern enough for it).

The A-side, however, is an entirely different kettle of glittery secondhand platform shoes. It's a spiralling, richocheting, distorted chaos of shiny, tangled riffs which wrap round and rebound off each other like some kind of glamorous space-age dogfight. Fast, bewildering and strobe-lit, it's a hi-speed glam rock punk mess which seems to sneer at the very styles it's plundering - while making sure to save plenty of humorous bile to spit at the Doherty-inspired high-maintenance nihilism which such a discouraging number of people aim to emulate.*

Admittedly, this record isn't quite transcendent. But it is energetic and inventive and wild-eyed and noisy and suggestive of glamour and attitude - and, what is more, it manages to showcase a glamorous-sounding song about an unglamorous situation without accidentally infusing the subject matter with any of the merit of the music. For which: Respect.

*And which is, I feel, a rather worthy target. Surely it's about time we sought out some heroes who're good at something requiring a tad more experience and talent than Courting Death? I mean, being dead isn't difficult; in time it comes naturally to everyone. Here's to people who've mastered the rather more difficult art of coping with living...

Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Foals

Try This On Your Piano / Look At My Furrows Of Worry

Mobback
13506
13510

Poison

The Best Of Poison: 20 Years Of Rock

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND