Richard Brabin

Rat Boy – Scum

Apart from the ludicrously affected delivery of Jordan Cardy, the watered-down, non-descript unholy union of genres and the tired and lacklustre lyrical content, there’s a lot to find annoying about Rat Boy’s debut record. The fact that this stuff is being pushed and peddled out to our younger generation via social media channels should be more cause for concern than a high fat diet or the odd bike shed fag. Song titles such as Fake ID and Sportswear tell you a lot about the content of material – indeed in Rat Boy’s world, Danny Dyer would be poet laureate.

Some may say “That’s what modern kids relate to” which is a profoundly patronising statement and does a great disservice to our younger generation. Bowie talked to the kids, as did Dylan. They filled them with hope and offered understanding. They didn’t just say meaningless things with no symbolic meaning. Saying the word “Potato” does not mean I have related to everyone who’s tucked into a spud. Rat Boy sings in one particularly nauseating song, “It won’t be long, before I sign on.” We can but hope.

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