So Alone and Looking So Fine
Download: The Siren Six : “If You’re Not Now (You Never Were)”
In potential Skabba The Hut news, a band called Big City Rock released a self-titled full-length on Atlantic a few weeks ago. It’s a synth-pop record guided by the hand of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger that ends up sounding something like The Killers for people who thought The Killers were too edgy.
Now, normally, I wouldn’t care about this, but two things put this on my radar: 1) I had to watch the band’s EPK (which strangely makes them look like an Xtian band) in meetings with their label/distributor on several occasions, which leads me to believe that Big City Rock may get the attention (meaning: funds) they need to get major exposure, and 2) they used to be in a ska band called The Siren Six.
That none of their promotional materials (from what I can tell, anyway) mentions this band makes me think they might be embarrassed about it, hence the Skabba The Hut comment. The thing is, though, their recorded output as The Siren Six—especially the Young and Professional EP—is almost uniformly superior to what little they’ve released as Big City Rock. “If You’re Not Now (You Never Were),” which I’ve linked above, is a great example of this.
I’ve disavowed any knowledge of most of what I listened to during the dark period of my life when I was, like, way into ska and pop-punk, but I’ve held onto my love for The Siren Six and this song in particular. I love everything from the fist-pumping drum intro to the organs to the wanky guitar solo to the lyrics, which, though they aren’t particularly deep or important, manage to simultaneously convey a feeling of arrogance and self-deprecation, which is no easy feat. Maybe it’s just the personal memories I have associated with it, but “If You’re Not Now” is all fun-times sunshiney goodness. Since Spring is here and it’s allegedly sunny in some parts of the country, I thought I’d pass the song along.
Also, when you hear Big City Rock’s “All of the Above” on the radio and try to guess why someone thought it would be a good idea to rip off “Somebody Told Me,” but give it even dumber lyrics, you can listen to this and wonder what went wrong.
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