ILL vs Music Today
I like music to inspire, to excite and invigorate. To take me off in unexpected directions and escape reality, or at least give me a different take on reality. I like my music to provoke thought but not be too po-faced. Music is for enjoyment, it can be fun even if you’re trying to make a point.
I can’t stand the unending conveyor belt of beige, insipid, uninspiring bands (groups?) that appear in droves these days. On one hand I blame reality shows like X Factor. All because a similar group/pretty boy with a guitar released an instantly forgettable ditty that became massive. It met the “formula” required for mainstream radio playlists so gets played to death.
But, even the so-called alternative music scene has become the norm. I remember when the Indie charts used to offer an exciting mix of the alternative with its DIY ethic and eclectic mix of styles. The term “indie” though became one of the most mis-used terms. Ultimately describing a sound/genre rather than a description of the way the music was produced & released. Britpop didn’t help this cause.
Indie?
Often the major label bands labelled as part of the “indie”/alternative scene are formulaic & uninspiring dross, taking their inspiration from the likes of the brothers Gallagher and filling the airwaves with their unimaginative lad-oriented masculine guff. A very dismissive description I realise, but it seems that any group of young lads with guitars is tagged as an indie band.
Every now and then bands come along that change things or bring a fresh perspective. Going back a few years take Nirvana as an example. They took rock and mixed it up, changing the norm to give it a different sound. But even then, their bastard offspring Foo Fighters, while initially exciting and offering something a bit different, seem now to just release the same album over and over again.
It often feels to me that bands like this get to a certain level, have a blueprint that sells records/tickets & can feel like they have lost their passion or imagination that got them there and end up going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate they have an audience, obviously – they sell millions of albums and sell out tours. I just want something more…. there is always a needs for bands who are diverse and offer a real alternative to the mainstream, that have something to say in a vital distinct way.
The Future is ILL
If you break through the unpalatable surface noise, there are plenty of bands willing to have a go at ploughing their own furrow, mixing up styles and influences, experimenting and generally doing what they like, creating a beautiful noise from the resultant melting pot.
To hear a band and think wow, they have a reason for existing. They are doing what they love, they don’t give a fuck. No, they do give a fuck, but they do it on their terms. Playing the music they want not trying to satisfy Radio 1, Capital or whatever playlist has the most influence. I’m thinking recently the likes of Interrobang, La Luz, Dream Wife, Table Scraps, English Language to name a few.
ILL -We are ILL
Add to this list the debut album, We are ILL, from Manchester 5 piece ILL.
From the opening bars of The ILL Song, listening to this band is a frantically intriguing cathartic experience. The album feels as if it has been a long time coming but it has been worth the wait.
It is a rousing crazy mixed up frenetic noise but distinctively ILL. They don’t neatly fit into single genre, don’t follow specific formulas, they sound like ILL.
Their heady music is adrenaline-charged, mesmerically jagged and frantic. Shared vocals with their different inflections create dissonant textures as they scuffle & complement, tantalize & delight.
Their videos and image (which I believe is replicated in their live shows – note to self: see ILL live this year…) is colourful and over the top. Most definitely the antidote to all the beige bands around.
The ILL song
The ILL song combines bits of early The Horrors (Count in Fives) with the vocals reminiscent of The Slits & Dog Faced Herman’s. There is a manic energy throughout. The song seems to be a comment on mental illness and the way it is dealt with much of the time. “Take your pills, take your pills” as if that is the cure, really it is to make you think you are being treated, but not being provided with the full range of treatment that would get to the root cause. Taming the mania the prescribed drugs do what is expected, dull the senses, the soporific effect is reflected as the music slows towards the end.
The subject matter of the songs (ranging from mental health to relationships and feminism/raging against male domination and political targets) ILL deal with often sees them injecting an element of black humour, defiantly and deservedly irreverent where necessary. Take the attack on sexism/misogyny that is Space Dick,. Using clever lyrics it removes power & ridicules male ego and sexism with astute observations and spiky guitar riffage.
Stuck on a Loop
Stuck on a Loop kicks off with dirty bass, fuzzy guitars and distorted/disjointed voices. The song builds into a joyous melee of effects laden guitar noise and infectious drums. I wouldn’t mind being stuck in this feverish chaotic loop.
Bears has an almost gothy/Cure like feel to it while Bus Shelter with its enthralling bass & incessant drum beat is captivating and joyous bouncy music, with more than a nod to The Fall. An early influence on the band and their gratitude is reflected in the song with its Hit the North references. The song with its seemingly innocent references to waiting at a bus stop, is actually a comment on poverty and homelessness.
Industrial strength bass & repetitive grizzly guitars on I Am the Meat are complemented by weird & wonky keys. The music on the epic Slithering Lizard lives up to the image of title with clipped, sinister keyboards, malevolent guitars and insistent drums. The trademark bass appears again on the thinly veiled seething wrath that is Power, complemented by squally guitars and a screamed crescendo of a chorus.
Hysteria!
Make sure you listen right to the end as they save some of their ire and rage for final track and one of the album highlights, Hysteria. They have picked their target and they make sure they don’t miss. If you believe that a woman’s place is in the home and their purpose is to be a wife and mother, then stop listening now. (Though, if you have those values I’m not sure you’d have got this far anyway). The vehement fury is apparent in the direct lyrics and reflected in the ferocity of the music.
A fitting end to a triumphant debut which gives you everything – It inspires and invigorates. It has something serious to say, but the band sound, and look, as if they are having the time of their lives. It takes you off in all directions both musically and with the subject matter of the songs. A stunning debut and heading to the top of my list of albums of the year already.
ILL they may be, but they are the cure.
We are ILL:
Harri Shanahan – vocals and keys
Sadie Noble – vocals, guitar, percussion, tapes
Whitney Bluzma – vocals, bass, percussion
Fiona Ledgard – drums
Tamsin Middleton – vocals
Find ILL online: