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Corporate MF
The Royal We
Omega Point Records
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Article
written by Chris G
Oct 17, 2004.
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It begins with tingling synths, a sharp drumbeat and the bass twanging into action followed by the bitter and angry voice of Nicholas Dye: "shake my hand and understand/we've got a product in demand". So begins, 'The Royal We', one of the best anti-The System records of the twenty-first century so far. 'Thirds Divide The Day' ("Eight hours of sleep/eight hours of work/eight hours of play") is packed full of incisive lyrics; "keep your eyes on the dollar signs...skip lunch, wait for dinner...who wants to be a millionaire? Too bad 'cos you can't... settle down find a wife and live your life through your children". All of which are delivered in an off-hand and drop-dead cool manner, over some very post-punk sounds.
But, hold on, hold on. What's this? You want me to dance and emancipate myself from this '9-5 grind' through a band called Corporate MF? Look at them! Look at that album cover. Are you quite sure?
Well, yes. Subtlety is hardly the name of the game here, but this album is simply the best collision of synth driven post-punk noise and overtly satirical anti-office life politics that I can remember.
'Head Honcho' might sound like the worst song ever, but under some creeping bass, driving 80's electro synths and lazy drumming, it really is a quite masterful slab of crazy and dancey insane cool which ends with a meltdown of an organ and the drummer actually exploding.
Of course, the album isn't perfect and is pretty amateurish in places. Dye's vocals can veer towards the Howlin' Pelle variety and there is little variety. But I can't resist what Corporate MF are saying. Nor, crucially, how they are saying it: like a more low key Rapture, Le Tigre on the comedown, or the synths of Add N to (X) alongside the guitars of Gang of Four. It makes for a pretty fantastic combination.
Untitled Document
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