The latest edition of the Getting into series looks at Half Man Half Biscuit’s 5th album, 1995’s Some Call It Godcore.
Thankfully, the threat that This Leaden Pall was ushering in an era of overly long albums doesn’t come to pass, with this clocking in at a reasonable 40 mins. Unfortunately, I fear we may be entering an era of diminishing returns. It happens to most bands; often, it’s the cliche of finding success and losing your hunger. For HMHB, it may be a case of becoming too comfortable within their niche.
The old John Peel quote about The Fall – “They are always different; they are always the same” – could well have been about HMHB. But there isn’t enough different on Some Call It Godcore to make up for them largely missing a key aspect of what makes them so enjoyable. The slow-burning insights packed within their lyrics are usually counter-balanced by the relative immediacy of their music, but that’s lacking here. Essentially, it’s their least catchy collection of tunes so far.
However, this isn’t without its moments; they’re just slightly tainted by a sense that you’ve heard versions of them before. Friday Night and the Gates Are Low is another slice of self-aware miserabilism, which could well be an offshoot of their second album’s Reasons to Be Miserable (Part 10), this time taking aim at day-tripper football fans. Standout line – “Shove a seat beneath my arse” – which is so absurd that I can’t help but love it.
They return to a favourite theme of airing various music business gripes. Most notably on Sponsoring the Moshpits, commenting on the corporate commodification of just about everything. There’s something extremely HMHB about this song; it contains a quite incisive critique that they never overtly make. It’s like a protest song, without the actual protest; they see the issue but it’s not their job to spell it out for you.
This feeling that they never fully commit to any sentiment other than cynicism is a frustration I kept returning to. Song For Europe is a cheesy anti-war anthem which can only be read as a piss-take (perhaps a Eurovision pastiche given the title). But, even as satire, I’m not sure it’s any more insightful than the songs it parodies. It veers too close to crap sketch show territory where the only purpose is to make fun of the thickos.
And sometimes they’re just a bit too clever for their own good. Opener, Sensitive Outsider, is a warped country gallop which contains some great lyrics, weaving in themes of class and privilege. But, I come back to a previous criticism, where I’m appreciating it on an intellectual level without it really making me feel anything. It’s almost like an obtuse version of Pulp’s Common People from the same time period.
The highlight comes on the Kinks-y Even Men with Steel Hearts where Blackwell briefly drops the snark and finds joy in the farcical. Plus, the punchline is funny. They also have a customary experimental moment on the closer as they drop the typical pop song structure for some extended acoustic spoken word storytelling. While it’s not without its quirks, it’s a surprisingly straightforward and sincere tale of love lost, however it doesn’t have much replay value beyond the novelty of its format.
I’m probably an outlier among HMHB-enjoyers in that I think they’re overly cynical and the mundane character portraits are some of my least favourite songs. They’re the old aspects they lean most heavily into here. And with their weakest collection of tunes so far, this never won me over like previous albums. After tackling some grander themes on This Leaden Pall, this feels like a slight step backwards and I worry that they get trapped in a cycle of endless cynicism as they accept their role as the perennial snarky smart-arses.
One for the die-hards only.
Rating:
The next edition covers 6th album – Voyage to the Bottom of the Road. Read it here.
You can catch up on previous editions here.
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