REVIEW: Spook Muziek’s latest single, ‘Big Wow!’
With the latest release of his own brand of off-kilter dance-punk, Spook Muziek remains uncatchable in his lane on the (totally real) transatlantic motorway between Sheffield and New York.
'Big Wow!', the latest single from Spook Muziek, an artist amusingly self-described as "Sheffield's answer to Alex Turner", is further evidence that often the most enjoyable music is that which takes itself the least seriously. Making this descriptor all the more entertaining is the fact that most of Adam Follett's tunes as Spook Muziek bear next-to-no resemblance to the garage rock aesthetics which permeate most of Arctic Monkeys' oeuvre. Where he clearly does find inspiration, though, is within the anxious dance punk of LCD Soundsystem and even (at a slight stretch) the unhinged new wave of acts like Sigue Sigue Sputnik.
Upon sharing this song with my teenage brother, he declared "It sounds like [Peep Show's] Jez and Hans if they were actually any good", and it's hard to disagree with such an assessment, to be honest. Whether or not that means anything to you is entirely beside the point. In a less fictional example, 'Big Wow!' might also bring to mind the frenetic sonic energies of oddball indie peer Sugar Pit, and duly finds Spook Muziek locked into the most direct mode of songwriting we've seen him in so far. Sure, it retains the bleep-bloop-zip-zaps (yeah, that's the technical term) which continue to set him apart in a frequently cautious and backwards-looking alt scene, and yes it remains structurally somewhat scatty, but still it sees him return with a newfound ambitious pop appeal.
"Pop" meant in the loosest sense of the word, there, as this is by no means going to break through the mainstream, but it's thumping synth intro will instantly draw in any listener with any sort of taste. And, from the infectious melody of "Should we be splitting hairs / When I'm falling down the stairs" to that irresistible angst-fuelled recurring guitar riff, the track is simply laden with hooks in the same way any popular banger is.
The one thing you could possibly say is missing from this tune is the commitment to some semblance of traditional song structure. It could almost be argued that this track has three choruses, yet equally that it has none. I was constantly waiting for that aforementioned melody to return; never for it to do so. The result is a somewhat all-over-the-place listening experience.
But perhaps that's the point. And moreover perhaps it's precisely in this refusal to adhere where Spook Muziek's appeal lies. Or possibly even appealing is the least of his interests, way way behind creating and expressing. Like imagine trying to tell Super Hans that people like choruses: "People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis; you can't trust people". It's hardly a great point; I myself, as a person with (hopefully) a semi-decent ear for good music, rather like a catchy chorus - nonetheless, the one thing I could never fault in Spook's writing and delivery of this song is the authenticity.
And right there's the Turnerism, I suppose. Or perhaps, more generally, the Sheffieldism. Yep, it's not as if Adam Follett's music rejects its roots; in fact his songs practically ooze with northern swagger. But, at the same time, he simply seems to be looking beyond his hometown's borders, as if injecting the Yorkshire industrial grit with a dose of NYC restlessness. James Murphy would be proud and The Dare could only dream of conjuring a brand of electronic punk which sounds so darn loose. Still though, there's little point in comparing and namechecking; 'Big Wow!' is (by its very definition) perpetually unimpressed with the whole lot, fiercely independent and, as such, answers to absolutely no-one. Sounds like home to me.
You can listen to ‘Big Wow!’ here.
Words: Isaac French
