authentic music. Chumbawumba have to
their credit done the latter and it is as refreshing as a
bucket of water of the head of the Deputy Prime Minister’s
head. This can be demonstrated recourse to the album’s
opening track; ‘The Wizard of Menlo Park’ featuring
old style eccentric Chumbawumba instrumentals and lyrics
that Mick Skinner would trade a lifetime of Doner Kebabs
for;
“Old Thomas Edison mixing up
the medicine, messing up time from
Accrington to Amazon. See them all come with their wires
and booms and their itchy little things saying ‘Play
your funky drum!”
‘Un’ is a variety packed anarchic
indie offering that highlights the fact that the wacky group
fuelled by the chirpy vocals of Dunstan Bruce, seems to be
just having fun and is relishing their time away from the
public glare. There material is peppered with cutting edge
lyrics and topical tirades against the establishment. ‘On
eBay’ lashes out at the looting of Iraqi national treasures
from under the noses of the US Forces. ‘Un” contains
typical Chumba idiosyncrasies, but most of all it is an insightful
and compelling listen, with each number having its own merits.
Therefore, there is no standout track to provide a distorted
view of the band this time around.
Catch Chumbawumba live on their forthcoming
UK tour;
7th May 04 Assembly Rooms, Ludlow (UK)
(Acoustic set)
9th May 04 Theatre Royal, Northampton (UK) (Acoustic set)
8th June 04 Fleece & Firkin, Bristol (UK)
9th June 04 The Mean Fiddler, London (UK)
10th June 04 Irish Centre, Leeds (UK)
12th June 04 Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham (UK)
16th June 04 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
(UK)
17th June 04 The Met AC, Bury (UK)
18th June 04 Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven (UK)
4th July 04 Bridgewater Festival
(UK)
David Adair |
