Over the Counter Culture

Artist: The Ordinary Boys
Label: Wea/B-Unique
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 825646167425
EAN: 0825646167425
ASIN: B0002C9TY4

Release Date: 2004-07-08

Over the Counter Culture

Related Categories:

General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Britpop

| British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock

| Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Garage Rock

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Rock

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Tracks:

Over the Counter Culture
List Goes On
Week in, Week Out
Talk Talk Talk
Little Bitch
Settle Down
Weekend Revolution
Maybe Someday
Just a Song
Seaside
In Awe of Awful
Robots and Monkeys

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Album Description

The Libertines have the mythology, Razorlight have the attitude but only one new band in Britain have the songs. The Ordinary Boys stunning debut `Over The Counter Culture' is a glorious amalgamation of 80s indie and mod sharpness owing equal debt to The Smiths and The Jam yet still retaining a winning originality. WEA. 2004.

Album Details

The Critically Acclaimed Debut from the Boys from Brighton who have the Goods to Back Up the Hype Behind Them. Their Sound is Strangely Familiar (Fancy That) as They Wear their Influences on their Collective Sleeves. They Simply have the Wherewithall to Stand Head and Shoulders above their Contemporaries with Inspired Songwriting, Attitude and Excellent Musicianship. Includes a Cover of the Specials' "Little Bitch".

Customer Reviews:

Eh........2005-06-22

I bought this CD after hearing "Seaside," which is a fantastic single. For that song, yes, the praise and comparisons others are raising here are quite appropriate. But....

Well, to my ears the rest of the CD is indeed quite ordinary. I just couldn't get into it. The hooks just aren't there, the lyrics are awkward at best, and nothing stands out.

So if you can buy "Seaside" as a single, do it. But I wouldn't recommend getting the CD, particularly at import price.

DELIGHTFUL DEBUT! AN IMPORT WORTH IMPORTING! (4.6 stars).......2004-12-27

As of this review, there is NO domestic release date, and that is real shame. Over the Counter Culture is a brilliant slice of britpop/rock at it's finest. Spawning at least 4 singles over in the UK, The Ordinary Boys have put together a fine debut, chock full of great riffs, melodies and all sing-a-longs. Upon first listen, one will instantly hear what I believe is the biggest influence... THE JAM. Tracks like Seaside, Talk Talk Talk and Just a Song, are pretty much right out of Paul Weller's songbook. But all this does not take away from their own unique energy they bring to the record, they have enough ammo to equip 4 or 5 records worth, and the Jam comparisions from me are nothing but affectionate.

My favorite tracks are Just a Song, Seaside, In Awe of the Aweful and Little B*tch. The latter sounds very ska-punk influenced (please don't let that scare you), but it trips along with such melody and pace, one can't help just to have fun with it. This debut is in the long line of hot-tipped, Brit debuts that zines like NME drool all over for about a week or so. This time, as with a lot of stuff from this year, they get it right, The drooling is definitely deserved. The lack of filler on this record makes this one for the long haul. Now if we could only get it domestically?!?

Great album.......2004-12-21

I bought this album - yes I spent the money on the import - on the recommendation of a record store clerk on Sunset in Hollywood, after asking her if she had heard Razorlight. And while I hated paying $25 for any CD, I am glad I did because these guys are terrific. Something like The Squeeze meets the Jam meets later Madness. Great vocals and horns, positive and up tempo, solid all the way around. They're not as raw nor emotional as Razorlight but I've got plenty of room in my CD player for a band like The Ordinary Boys.

Ordinary and Entertaining.......2004-12-20

Named after a Morrissey track, The Ordinary Boys couldn't sound less like Moz or the Smiths (except when they steal the riff of "What Difference Does It Make"). Their straight up Brit rock on Over the Counter Culture falls between The Libertines and Feeder, with roots in The Specials (whom they cover with a rollicking version of "Little Bitch"). The songs of singer Preston and guitarist William J. Brown are overly concerned with bucking the status quo (to name only two of seven: the title track and "Robots and Monkeys"), which might be more effective if their own music weren't such a showcase of English top-of-the-pops. Yet their words convey their meaning with simplicity - a feat in any of the arts - and they are pretty catchy boys. Not essential by any means, but entertaining nonetheless.

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