#160
April 1980
Vic Godard and the Subway Sect
What’s the Matter Boy?
Genre: Half retro Half Punk Garage
2.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Split Up the Money
Double Negative
Despite their reputation as an early British punk band, this debut album by Vic is deeply influenced and anticipates the burgeoning Rockabilly Revival.
I was really looking forward to this since the various sites, while offering no actual reviews, give this high marks. In the end, though, it left me wanting. A lot. The musicianship is ploddingly mediocre, Vic’s singing is warbling and shambolic, he dances around actual notes but never finds them. If you want this sound, you go pull out an Eddie Cochran or Buddy Holly record. This is unnecessary and flimsy.
It’s not until we get to side two that the band starts to sound like a post-punk group, ala The Clash or Billy Bragg and I am left wishing they had opened like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfBd6c79Rk&list=PLlvn8uktX5Lsdo8hSqeu3A267kvIybr4T
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