S.C.U.M

1968年，闯荡纽约的艺术青年瓦莱丽·索拉娜斯突然举枪射向艺术界的大佬Andy Warhol，人们之后发现她还写了一本名为《SCUM Manifesto》的书，宣扬全世界所有女人联合起来创造一个大同世界的理想。整整40年后，一支年轻的乐队在伦敦东南部成立了，并受到《SCUM Manifesto》的启发把自己的名字定为了S.C.U.M。
“去你的，我们做音乐又不是为了讨你开心！”S.C.U.M 乐队的成员Samuel Kilcoyne在面对别人觉得乐队有那么点“装”的质疑时显得有点愤怒。“我们不相信所谓的成功，我们只相信自己，请听了我们的音乐再说话。”主唱Thomas Cohen点头称是，声援起自己的队友来。 事实上，人们对于乐队有点“装”的印象并不那么毫无道理。因为在Indie Rock盛行，年轻乐队都很平易近人的今天，S.C.U.M的出现的确是有那么点特立独行，甚至无形之中会让人产生那么一点距离感。因为，S.C.U.M可不像一般的乐队一样会在采访时和记者们聊自己受了谁和谁的影响，他们一开始就果断地声称从没有任何人在音乐上影响过乐队。而在的巡演路途上，乐队也会专门在当地找一个录音室用音乐记录下自己对于这座城市的想法，并用“SIGNALS” 为名把它们归到一个系列供乐迷下载，艺术气息十足。而随着乐队的名气越来越响，乐迷们还发现S.C.U.M的成员们也普遍来头不小，主唱Thomas Cohen是英国电视名人Peaches Geldof的男朋友，Samuel Kilcoyne是前卫电子乐团Add N to X成员Barry 7的儿子，而贝司手Huw Webb则是The Horrors乐队成员Rhys Webb的弟弟。再加上乐队成员修建的整整齐齐的中长发和时尚简约的穿着，S.C.U.M实在是挺容易给人以一种纨绔子弟组个乐队打发无聊时间的感觉。 但S.C.U.M自己明白乐队的音乐目标绝非装装姿态的无病呻吟，想要真正去影响别人便只有写出能感染人的歌曲这一条路。于是，在早期那张走实验风格但听上去有些苍白的 《Visions Arise》之后，乐队便没有再发表作品，而是钻研起了电影配乐，民谣和乡村音乐，并想从中得到一些写歌的启示。在去年的时候，乐队更是花了整整一年的时间到荒无人烟的英国郊区去排练创作，最终完成了首张专辑。 尽管这张专辑会在什么时候发表还并没有确定，但从Mute公司率先为乐队发表的《Amber Hands》单曲来看，他们的表现已经有了脱胎换骨的变化，早期作品里那噪音化却显得单调的吉他部分得到了很大程度的丰富，算是乐队的音乐打下了一个很深沉的基础，再加上合成器的演奏，S.C.U.M的新作听上去黑暗而又飘逸。而Thomas Cohen的嗓音也变得旋律化了不少，很能打动人。不过，可别以为乐队就这么放弃了之前的艺术立场走起了流行路线。从他们能请来了德高望重的Silver Apples和Sonic Boom来给《Amber Hands》做Remix的举动，我们就能看出他们依然保持了很高的眼界。 在有态度的同时，又通过勤奋的排练得到了音乐上的提升，或许随着专辑的发表，会有越来越多的乐迷意识到S.C.U.M绝非一群眼高手低的纨绔子弟，而是真正怀有热忱和创新意识的音乐家。
 
S.C.U.M. – or to give them their full originally-invented-by-would-be-Warhol-assassin Valerie-Solanas name, Society For Cutting Up Men: essentially a cheery manifesto about how all men are a bit rubbish, basically – hark back to the clattering industrial sounds of yore, managing to evade the ham-fisted attempts of lesser acts who’ve looked to the era for inspiration.
There is something over-archingly immense about how the band have transformed from the embryonic state of ‘all talk and no trousers’, and are now bursting into a thrilling declaration of ‘actually, there’s more than just trousers, there’s hats too’. After initially arriving in 2008 as an act born from the Underage (festival, club nights etc) scene, and featuring a brother of a Horror and the son of an Add N to (X), they seemed a bit like a psychedelically incestuous art-rock EastEnders.
Comparisons with The Horrors are rife, mainly because of the connections and a similar outlook and sound. But then, we all thought we had the measure of Faris and company once, and now they’ve turned into the best band in Britain. And, really, there’s no reason why S.C.U.M. shouldn’t follow them.
Amazingly haired soundscapery and ominous and intriguing racket is S.C.U.M.’s stock in trade. Opener Faith Unfolds bowls about optimistically for a while, before swooning into a motorik glide, while the synthy washes of Amber Hands suggests there was a roaring trade going on for early Simple Minds albums around Hoxton at the start of this year. Thomas Cohen’s voice fits perfectly, with a baritone full of foreboding and illicit promise. Requiem builds into a coalescent swarm of noise, while album closer Whitechapel moves gracefully with a touch of cosmic disco among its swathes of cello and mellotron, and then breaks into a slight canter.
With high-concept sounds and an ace sleeve, Again Into Eyes is a bold debut, and an extremely rewarding experience. Initial listens may paint it as a bit of a pretentious dirge, but dive into it and soon warmth and light flood in. There’s a sense that S.C.U.M. are only just beginning, and the promise here suggests you should mark them for future greatness.