Welly’s debut album, ‘Big In The Suburbs’, opens with the words “Now for a moment of light entertainment” as a lead into fourteen tracks which see the Southampton DIY group pen their own quirky, offbeat tribute to the mundane life in Britain’s suburbs. Taking themes “normal folk” face everyday, Welly transform them into three minute nuggets of quirky, eccentric indie-pop.
The opener, “Big In The Suburbs,” sets the stage with its jangling guitars and cheeky swagger. Frontman Welly’s voice is the icing on this musical cake as he delivers his poems to British suburbia with an suitably mischievous edge. Quite honestly, it’s heroic how the man has made songs about visiting relatives and dead end roads sound so utterly invigorating and entertaining.
Tracks like “Knock And Run” and recent single, “The Roundabout Racehorse” further highlight Welly’s flair for blending infectious, quirky splashes of indie-pop with sharp, witty lyricism. The former is bristling with buzzing electronics and samples while the latter, a synth-dripping track which sees Welly taking on a nostalgic look at going back home.
However, if there is a track that epitomises everything that is wonderful about “Big In The Suburbs”, you need look no further than “Shopping” which arrives close to the mid point of the album. Dreaming of more while staying content with what you have, the track finds Welly waxing lyrical about the dazzling lights of the Paris high street while still seeking the comfort of a Costa Coffee and a big Aldi.
Musically, “Big in the Suburbs” might not be an album for everyone due to Welly’s almost eccentric approach to writing hooky pop songs. However, lyrically, anybody who has grown up in the concrete jungle that is urban Britain will instantly relate to these songs about wanting more than dead end cul-de-sacs and character-filled high streets but finding themselves constantly pulled back by the never-changing comfort of those same places.
That being said, quite frankly, Welly deserves an award because songs about written about such mundane subject matter on the northbound M6 motorway should never be this fun.
To pick up your copy of Big in the Suburbs, head over to Welly’s Official Website.
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