Mark and Becki pull out all the stops yet again for an 8 track EP of electronic noise, supplemented perfectly with dark vocals and lyrics to match. The pair must be one of the most prolific set of musicians I have the pleasure of knowing. Relentless work ethic, not only playing gigs, which I might add, (covid aside) they never seem to stop doing, local, national fests, mini fests, you name it, they play it. But also in their home studio, the ethic continues at an almost frightening pace. A genuine crowd pleaser where all but a few, get involved in one way or another. The Webb are one of those bands where crowd interaction (it appears) is almost as important as the music itself, which I guess is why musicians do what they do.
This isn’t the first time I’ve reviewed The Webb; however, I sense a very subtle change in direction, perhaps only on this set of tunes, whereby the rhythm is leaning more towards a “dancey” beat. Harking back to late 70’s and 80’s electronic synth machines, the pair do what they do best in mixing genres of music, yet still retaining a darker side to observational lyric writing. Mark on keyboards here as is the norm, but with a few backing vocals thrown in for good measure. Some might say the band is more a visual outfit, they certainly know how to “show” their music, however, putting the headphones on, dark room, volume up high, it’s easy to be drawn in to the sounds of the keyboards and of course Becki’s vocal ranges and immerse yourself into days gone by. The musical beat forces you to toe tap to each tune, the lyrics easy to follow. And if you have seen em live, the images of Mark n Becki willing you to move to the sound of synth. Almost a hypnotic energy, not only with the music itself, but the body language they both extend to the crowd, Becki launching into the crowd, bringing the punters into the story they are telling.
Murder on CCTV: Interesting one this to kick off with. Much has been and still is said about the amount of cctv cameras in public places. Privacy issues, big brother etc cut. although not directly saying either way, the pros and cons for cameras, the track may open a discussion into the issues which surround the them. Clever lyrics to make us think, rather than react to a fact of modern-day life.
Fucked Up: How many of us does this relate to? An honest song of just how we can feel at times. The need to just be alone without any outside influence. The acceptance that we can be “fucked up, twisted or mad”. Labels can be true or twisted or perceived. In today’s society, mental ill health is in a massive increase and truly needs to be addressed, covid didn’t help, current events abroad have affected many, not only where its at, but elsewhere. So many contributing factors for people with issues. Perhaps its time we all looked around us and opened our eyes to the reality of modern-day living. Help each other out, as the question, “are you ok, can I help”. Nice little sample half way through of what sounds like a 1950’s movie.
You’re the Reason: Following on from “fucked up”, we see that we can be the problem and that problem can be address accordingly. Often, people can be the “reason” why their problems exist. Our temperament, our own disdain of others, looking for an explanation as to why we can become withdrawn, putting blame onto others, or circumstances we can ourselves control and alter. Why our own actions have put us in the predicament that we often face in life. Quite a thought-provoking set of lyrics here, which might just give us pause to think before we act in a manner not conducive to how we should live our lives.
Negativity City: The ease at we can be sucked into a dark place due to our own issues, yet we still have the power to resist the pull. Modern living has blunted the human spirit whereby we feel the need to succeed, better ourselves and be accepted by those around us. Time to stop trying please others, be who we are and revel in who we are. Too many times we hear of the subtlety of force-fed bullshit, be this, be that, be better, wear expensive clothes, be beautiful. To just repel and resist is a form of revolution. Don get pulled into “negativity city”. Deny the system of your soul, life is hard enough.
Alien Invasion: No so much about and actual invasion, more of being able to switch off, and get rid of the “noise”. Time to start thinking clearly of who we are. Reset the mind, have some peace and quiet. Full on over dubbing vocals here which add to the “atmospheric” quality of the keyboards. “Turn off the sound, switch off the vision”. Strong and prophetic advice to shut out all the shit in the world.
Don’t Trust You: The need and want to have trust in people, including the stranger with the outstretched hands. Often in life we meet others who like to give the impression they are they’re for us. The “outstretched hand” of friendship and hope. But what is their purpose, we only see the eyes. What lies beneath the sentiment? Ulterior motives that wreck us, take away our dignity, our salvation, our hope. There is always someone who wants to strip us of our mind, materials objects and potentially ruin our lives. Always be aware of others who offer help, more so the strangers we encounter. Learn to trust the right people.
Dead Cities/Love Song: Any need to explain this. Apart from a clever mash up of 2 iconic tunes we all know and love. Interesting songs to bring together.
In a Darker Place: We’ve all been there, a time in our lives where we just fall into ourselves, our minds closing down to the darker times we have had to endure. Like a waking nightmare of the thing or things that keep us awake at night, yet we are still conscious. The faces of demons coming to haunt us in our awakened state. Often more worrying that the nightmares we have.
Oddly, the lyrics in this album could be perceived as being soulless and depressing, yet reading into them, it suggests being empowered to deal with, and face up to the issues that we as people experience in our lives. Everyone has bad days, many have bad lives, be it self-induced, or from outside influences. And we all have different ways of dealing with it. Some work, some don’t, what we are being shown here, is that we all have the potential to turn away from self-induced the darker aspects of living, or at the very least meet our demons and self-induced accept that they can be beaten in one form or another.
This is a great EP from 2 people who clearly love and believe in what they do.
Words: Johnny Reay, Photos: Richie Yates/Adrian Wharton/Band Media
Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWebb.band