Adult DVD are set to release their self-titled debut album on Friday, September 25, a project which truly launches the Leeds-based six-piece into the orchard of modern British dance-punk, a genre currently filled with some of the tastiest pink ladies you’ve ever tasted. Bands like Yard Act, Fat Dog and Getdown Services offer some deliciously golden fruit that shines above the foliage at the top of the tree.
Are the scandalously named group capable of intertwining two of the UK’s favourite genres and producing a crispy and beautiful apple, or will they be rotting away on the floor and used for compost? This album definitely answers that question, but it’s not that simple.
Adult DVD are so incredibly distinct and have created a sound for themselves which derives from a fearlessness to take guitar music and forge it into something born for the dancefloor.
With this album, the band have doubled down instrumentally and dived further into the realm of dance music by using rapid and creatively orchestrated synths that stand at the front of the stage, as well as aggressive yet calculated drum fills to heighten the energy on songs like “All I Need’ and ‘Ghillie Suit’. The latter of the two boasts an intro which could easily be mistaken for the start of a Prodigy song.
A huge amount of credit needs to be given to Jonny Newell, the band’s drummer who, while adapting brilliantly across the record, also expertly emulates the fast, chopped up, acoustic breakbeats that define one of the UK’s favourite dance music genres. The jungle influence can be felt across the entire record but most noticeably in what might be the band’s best song, ‘Rolling Face’, a bouncy ball of movement and infinite bravado that ends the album with ginormous fireworks.
This stands alongside the band’s key ingredient: a bold, visceral energy that is pioneered by the band’s rhythm pieces. The basslines and synth leads are simply mesmerising and embody the feeling that comes with dancing using every ounce of effort your body can muster. This magic that the band has managed to capture is deep within the substance of the whole record.
This distinctiveness that Adult DVD achieves can partly be credited to Harry Hanson, the band’s lead singer. Satirical lyrics and bizarre fictional stories are catapulted into your ear with a mixture of sharp swagger and nonchalance that Hanson struts across multiple songs on this debut album. Hanson does what he does best and really leaves a mark; however, his biggest flaw comes from a lack of versatility.
The album is in your face and energetic. Hanson lives up to this effortlessly however, a wider range could really help make this album shine blindingly bright. Ascension and descent, or even allowing for more touching moments, could help this record go from very good to great.
What also poses a potential threat to contributing a deeper impact is the emotional capacity of the lyrical content. The album does effortlessly offer a much-needed wave of escapism with silliness and hilarity. The record’s second single, ‘Cowboy On Aisle Three’ paints an awfully entertaining picture of a cowboy absolutely losing it in a supermarket. ‘World’s Best Boss’ features an amusing mid-song ramble which includes a declaration of hate for sourdough bread.
What makes comedic lyrics work with other bands like Viagra Boys is that there is often an underlying message; the Leeds boys definitely do this at times. ‘Real Tree Lee’ is an excellent hornet’s nest poker as it describes a specific kind of person in the UK and mocks the ignorance that often comes with aggression.
Something that dance-punk’s brightest stars often do lyrically is offer moments of vulnerability and real emotion that allow for a record to really resonate with and deeply affect a listener. This album does not do this, which in turn slightly limits the effect that it can have.
Adult DVD’s debut is a treat for the ears, using impeccable drumming, audacious rhythm sections and surrealist lyricism to fuse the attitude of punk with the silliness and joy of dance music. They leave a deliciously frantic energy lingering in the air. It may not strike a chord emotionally or leave you in tears, but you will be forced by the sheer exuberance of the band’s sound to leave everything on the dance floor.
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