“I look like Leo Sayer” made me laugh out loud. Some younger listeners/readers may need to look that one up, but those of us of a certain vintage remember. Anyway, that line I quoted is from the end of the first track on this record called “The Fonz” and somewhat sums up the hair situation many of us are dealing with right now. Unfortunately, it also reminded me of the Leo Sayer song “Long Tall Glasses” but I’ll try not to hold that against you Dead Sheeran.
What we have here is six tracks of (mostly) observations on “lockdown season.” If you’ve found yourself angered, depressed, or confused about our pandemic, this album is for you. The government and other targets (including toilet paper hoarders) get their moment here, as Paul Catten lashes out. (I recently “discovered” Paul as part of the excellent Bedwetter, which you can read about here.)
I’m not sure if COVID-19 situation inspired or forced Paul to produce this music, but it sure hits the mark. He calls it a “bit like the Sleaford Mods, just not as clever;” I agree with the first half of that statement, but not the second. These tunes are driven by very hard percussion, but there are also excellent instrumental additions (violin, piano, etc.) that really raise the standard. And the words; you may enjoy the references to the past (Betamax, Garbage Pail Kids, the aforementioned Fonz) mixed in with the “discussion” of our current world situation. Plus, if you like an occasional f-bomb in your music, you just might catch one or two if you pay close attention. Well, OK, you’ll actually hear them repeatedly, even if you don’t pay much attention.
So if you want to get some frustration out of your system, or just have some fun, Dead Sheeran can help. There’s also a video for “Things Were Better in the Eighties” which not only features some of this excellent music, but also an amazing collection of t-shirts.