Over The Counter Culture

The Libertines have the mythology, Razorlight have the attitude but only one new band in Britain have the songs. The Ordinary Boys stunning debut ‘Over The Counter Culture’ is a glorious amalgamation of 80s indie and mod sharpness owing equal debt to The Smiths and The Jam yet still retaining a winning originality.

Opening with the title track, a spiralling guitar wrapped around parping horns, ‘Over The Counter Culture’ blasts from the speakers like teenage tearaways intent on reawakening Britpop with a swift kick to the groin. ‘The List Goes On’ reiterates the point with a pointed blast at bands that rehash the past without pushing forward, whilst ‘Week In Week Out’ and ‘Talk Talk Talk’ are modern anthems for the working classes. Track five, The Specials-pilfering ‘Little Bitch’, is a fantastic change of pace sounding like Rancid mashed up with Menswear, ‘Weekend Revolution’ is a glorious stomp through Coral territory and first single ‘Maybe Someday’ is a thunderbolt of youthful exuberance.

‘Over The Counter Culture’ closes with ‘Robots And Monkeys’ a storming finale of crackling intensity that bemoans the fate of the human race in the face of overwhelming capitalism. As the album ends with the final drone of Hammond it’s time to flip over and start the whole incredible journey once again. The Ordinary Boys have produced an album that is never less than ‘extra’ordinary. A record for the disillusioned, the downtrodden and the disenfranchised, it has all the makings of a modern indie classic.