If you’re a fan of déjà vu, you’ve come to the right place. Glaswegian insipid indie folks Nacional are yet another tedious new band set to sweep the slate of equally dull indie away in one, by doing exactly the same as every other band topping the NME chart this week and causing mass suicide to those with decent hearing. Ouch; But what about the tunes? Sure, if your view of indie is a dollop of Razorlight with a side of Scouting for Girls, and for that extra taste, a slight sprinkling of the Kaiser Chiefs, it’s a hit. It’s an indie dancefloor smash, with the same repetitive vocals, the same repetitive bass line, and the same repetitive chords. What could go wrong?
Straight from the offset, high hopes for this band are nowhere in sight. On first listen, it’s not too offensive. Yes it’s background music - and there is better background music out there - but there’s nothing too dreadful to document. Third listen: slay me now. I don’t know whether it’s purely the music, severe hayfever, too much of Josh Homme’s angry influence, or all three, but something about this track is really irritating. A mountainous start and an even rockier finish aren’t helping offer the band any second chances, and incessant vocals repeating the drab and uninspired lyrics aren’t much good either. I’m trying to restrain my antagonism from reaching the keyboard, but the thoughts swirling around my head go something along the lines of “Shut up, or I’ll shove that relentless “telephone” down your throat”. D.I.Y or die? The latter seems to be more preferable right now.
Let’s be optimistic here, as at least some good can be squeezed out of this embarrassing number. Kids: this is what NOT to do if you’re looking to release your band’s single. Looking for inspiration? Go listen to Atlas Sound, High Places, anything but this ramshackle excuse for a song. There’s plenty of mediocre tasteless indie out there, please don’t be an addition to such an unfortunate statistic. In the ideal world, loss of musical ability to Nacional, and anger management for me would undoubtedly the way forward. Unfortunately, we’re in Britain, circa 2008. Bomb scares in Exeter, racial disputes, gang violence, the credit crunch and the downfall of parliament. I’m still an angry teen, and Nacional are still a dreadful band.
A killer track, for all the wrong reasons.
Olivia Jaremi
