Johnny Foreigner - Arcs Across The City

by Dave Evans

Taut and angular indie rock from these shores

"'Suicide Pact, Yeh', to name just one, is ushered in on a sea of handclaps and feedback before some superb, high-octane testifying."

Taking Sonic Youth and Fugazi as their year zero, Digbeth's Johnny Foreigner make the sort of glorious indie racket that could so nearly have been killed off by corporate lager sponsorship of the scene not so many years back. The shouty boy/girl vocals recall the glory days of Prolapse with more than a dash of Huggy Bear-style righteous riot grrl anger. All that excitement may lead you to think that this is a release that fails to deliver on the tune front.

Not so. 'Suicide Pact, Yeh', to name just one, is ushered in on a sea of handclaps and feedback before some superb, high-octane testifying. It's typical of this energetic and vibrant debut and if you thought all that was missing from iForward Russia! was the addition of female vocals, this might just be your lucky day. 'Champagne Girls I Have Known' highlights strangulated yelping over metronomic clicks and warped, twisted guitar lines - the aural equivalent of one of Frank Gehry's architectural blockbusters.

'Yes, You Talk Too Fast' sounds like a race between all the instruments - including the voice - to get to the finish. The urgency underpinned by an inherent sense of melody. Though it stumbles and trips its way to the end of the song, it never falls flat on its face.

Wembley Stadium may not await Johnny Foreigner (especially with that name) but if they can recreate this fantastic album live, then we really should all be making a bee line for any future gigs.
alexei foreign said on November 29th 2007 [report abuse]

ahhhh thanks man!

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