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Gone are the days when you pondered the meaning of a bands name. The stupidity of names has kyboshed logical thought and left in its place a complacent acceptance of lunacy.
The one word oddity of the 90’s (Cast, Dodgy, Oasis, Suede, Reef etc), progressed (or regressed) to a more regal and polite ‘The’ followed by an inanimate object (The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Catheters etc ) of the late 90’s early 00’s. Now look around, in this age of minimal fidelity, bands are no longer happy with being Rolling Stones, Stone Roses or even Stone Temple Pilots. Instead, they’re Scouting for Girls, Bowling for Soup and Getting their Capes, wearing them and flying.
But there are bands that get it right (and no, Fuck Buttons isn’t one of them), and we reckon Hey Bulldog have pitched it nicely. There’s the ‘Hey’ casual and flippant, a gentle introduction. Combine that with our national canine, the Bulldog, and it’s a marriage made in heaven. Or is it?! We reckon you could pretty much follow ‘Hey’ with anything with similar aplomb, from ‘Hey Granddad’ being the softest right up to the hardcore ‘Hey Satan’, so Hey Bulldog is nicely poised. Imagine then, our surprise when we find out the magical ‘Hey Bulldog’ is merely a Beatles track. No amount of dissection or interpretation needed, just simple. A simple statement of intent, a calling to arms of all Beatles boffins that ‘Hey Bulldog’ is a band of kindred spirits.
But thankfully they are wrong. Hey Bulldog are much more than the sum of their influences, and their recent performance at the Chorlton Irish Club does no more than tip its cap to past references. The ‘garage’ sound of 2008s Desperado EP has long been replaced by a heaving bass presence that dominates over the whole feel of the band. It’s an oppressive stance, but an impressive change from the stannic feel of the EP. Rob Manton’s Desperado yelping refrain tempers and sits more agreeably when set against their weighty new tempo; it’s a balancing act that their live persona handles much better than on record.
Newer tracks like ‘Meaning of Loyalty’ and ‘Dirty City’ are the band finding their feet, on a ground that’s much sturdier and less gimmicky we might add. Remember the awesome leap of Supergrass from ‘Alright’ to ‘Richard III’, from the tin-pot hankering pop to the hunkering gravity and thundering pace of 'Richard III'? Well I do; that was the moment that I realised that this was the greatest rhythm section on earth, that they could do pop, but more importantly they also had the potential to sonically blow the rest of the competition out of the woods.
Hey Bulldog do more than physically grapple with this notion. These three Manchester lads are seemingly poised to make this giant leap. From the doldrums of Chorlton Irish Club will rise greater things. This is not some Masonic worship, Hey Bulldog are still firmly set in their embryonic stage, but it’s in this stage that bands are at their most exciting. TAGS: Hey Bulldog, Chorlton Irish Club Words by: Daniel Pratley
Links:
Hey Bulldog - Myspace
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