Rude Corps - Faster

Hear The Track Here

Aaah the Dolly Pig Hog thing...errr...the Citizen Pig Dolly....err... Rude Corps. Seems like a while since we last heard anything from this corner of Soundclick in a while, hold a second while I get one of my minions to track it down.... A Little Bird Told Me (March 2010) was classic Rude Corps, exactly what I would expect but that is because I've heard a lot of his material and soaked in the style and I think I understand him better than say, our American cousins (or indeed our anywhere else cousins). Growing up in England, you suck politics in with every breath. Moreover, the further north you go, the more radical will be the thinking and if there is a divide in English society it is the North/South divide. Nonetheless, there has always been a particular kind of English voice; loud, opinionated (although not always right), extremely articulate and literate but - most importantly - one not afraid to state what they perceive to be the truth. I have great admiration for that spirit, and that clearly informs my liking for the Dollybird (Ed: he is referring to Rude Corps of course). Mind you, the music generally manages to hold up its end well enough too.

So, Faster? Whodat??

To illustrate my point above, we have Faster. THE most political of musical genres of modern times has got to be punk, with its shades of nilhism and anarchy, even though it was perpetrated on the public by a master theatrical talent and showman - above all else. Still, it struck a very deep chord in English youth culture and still does today. It's that genre that Rude Corps has harnessed to the Faster task. To say that I was overwhelmed by my first taste of Faster is to completely understate the effect. Punk it may be but its got more in common with The Stranglers pop slanted variety than the outright rock of the Sex Pistols. It might steam along like its ass is on fire, churning out all three chords, but it is nuanced. You wouldn't think that a steaming, yet rigid, backbone and a spoken word song would work together, but this does and in a totally unexpected way.

As with all Rude Corps tracks, you do well to pay attention to the backstory and - whatever you do - read the lyrics. Mind you, you'll probably have to with Faster because Rude Corps does emote with a bit of an accent, not that I give a **** but some people might go eh? eh? (Ed: eh? eh?). I like the fact that Rude Corps sings in his own natural voice and accent, for me it adds more to the ideas and musical vision he's putting across. Not that Faster needs any help, it'll brand itself into your brain quickly enough with its driving bassline and relentless lyrics. I've always liked Rude Corps in this mode - think Stain(ed) Art with muscles - and I'd hazard a guess that this was one of his best tracks ever, and I've heard a few. Soundwise too, this carries a gravity I've not heard from this quarter before, everything punches at exactly the right weight, if you know what I mean. Tell you what, the first minute or so it like getting hammered into the wall and I like that... (Ed: he does, I've seen it. Nasty.) Besides, anyone who can come up with the line 'The only meaning in life is to strike sparks in the darkness' is alright by me.

Rude Corps in full flood. MUST HAVE political punk.