Review:

on 2011-10-12 CharlesMartel Said:

"Ding dong the Witch is dead,
The Wicked Witch is dead."
So sing a choir of angelic voices of schoolgirls during Hefner's song "The Day that Thatcher Died". Now while that is a sentiment with which I can sympathise, a part of me thinks that there is something unseemly about celebrating the (as yet unrealised) demise of the most divisive and destructive Prime Minister Britain has had, certainly since the end of the War. And yet, there is something which makes me smile everytime I hear the song.

Hefner as a band sit uneasily on the cusp of Britpop. They display just enough of the cheeky chappy persona to be entertaining, but avoid the surly smugness which characterised the likes of Oasis and the Verve. "We Love the City" is an album which in some ways marks the death knell of Britpop, certainly of the Blur kind, because it is evident right from the start that the city Hefner describe, London, is a place they positively hate, while recognising that there really is no other place in the world to live.

It is a feeling which, as a Londoner, I can have a great deal of sympathy. This city is a cultural heaven, where you can get the best of everything from gigs, art, food and some cracking pubs. But it is also congested, blessed or cursed with a transport system Londoners love to hate, expensive and infuriatingly inefficient. Quite apart from it being the home of hated politicos, London symbolises the best and the worst of England all in one.

Hefner bring this ambivalence felt by all Londoners to their music. The songs are, in truth, pretty straightforward compositions, with simple chord progressions, easy time signatures and steady rhythms. There is nothing here which would tax the listener. But Hefner's charm has ever been in the themes of their songs, and in "We Love the City" the band has taken that to a new level with what is essentially a concept album.

The band take pot shots not just at Margaret Thatcher, but also at the Royal family, Parliament, and the fact that, amid all the beauty that can be found in London, there are some really butt-ugly people around. Not just the rich come in for some deserved criticism but also the working classes for their seeming acceptance of a status quo which condemns them to live in tower blocks on crappy estates content to be able to live in a city of museums, galleries and concert venues which they never visit.

In this album all Londoners will recognise something of themselves, for the album is about all of us. In that sense it can be a bit embarrassing. But Hefner do everything with a sense of humour. And despite the bad taste of "The Day that Thatcher Died", like many others, I will play this and dance for joy on the day the old Bitch finally kicks the bucket.
Rating: 6/10