ARTiST: Les Incompetents
TiTLE: End Of An Error (2004-2006)
LABEL: White Heat Records
GENRE: Indie
TiME: 43:54 min
SiZE: 48,6 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Mar-08-2007
RELEASE DATE: Mar-12-2007
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. Introduction (Feat. David Williams) 01:11
02. Ramshackle Riot Show 01:17
03. Much Too Much 02:16
04. Escapades 02:17
05. Costa Rica 02:36
06. Treaty Of Versailles 02:24
07. Reunion 03:39
08. Oh, What A Shame 01:53
09. Chapter Two 03:00
10. How It All Went Wrong 02:46
11. Whiskey In The Jar (Live On XFM 2005) 03:42
12. Interview (With John Kennedy, XFM 2005) 00:20
13. Interview (With John Kennedy, XFM 2005) 07:46
14. Interview (With John Kennedy, XFM 2005) 05:40
15. Stupid Rap 03:07
Release Notes:
Reviewing bands posthumously seems a little
pointless at times, particularly when the band in
question hardly changed the face of music as we know
it. Who knows though, in a few years we might look
back and class Les Incompetents as being one of the
most important bands of the decade. It's fairly
improbable though.
Two years of Les Incompetents (that's Les as in
Dawson incidentally) yielded a few singles, and some
interesting gigs, but failed to create much of a
ripple. Indeed it's only since their split that
they've started to make headlines. Vocalist
Frederick Bang is currently hanging off the arm of
Peaches Geldof, whilst vocalist number two, Billy
Leeson, recently ended up in a coma after an
altercation with a former Green Party candidate.
It's a shame that they never made a huge impression,
because a cursory trip through End of An Error shows
a band that was far from incompetent. Their songs
were a fusion of punk, folk, and pop that glinted
with a knowing schizoid wit.
Escapades swings randomly through time changes and a
chanted dual vocal that is triggers off the pleasure
zones in the inner ear within seconds. It's the
exact kind of song that Larrikin Love churn out with
seeming ease and are roundly applauded for.
Costa Rica is a rampant charge led by the dual
vocals of Bang and Leeson which changes shape so
often it's almost hard to get a grasp on exactly
what's going on. It must be said it's perhaps the
dual vocals that set the band apart from other
'Thamesbeat' bands. At times the idea makes perfect
sense, and at others their approach is so
infuriating that you want to become a Green Party
candidate.
Humour and music often make uncomfortable bedfellows
(remember The Sultans of Ping?) and the sound of
someone who sounds like Brian Blessed really
overacting bellowing over the course of 10 songs can
get a little wearing. That's bad enough, but the
exorable Stupid Rap that closes the album is almost
enough to persuade even the most level headed person
that purchasing a sniper rifle and hunting the band
down before they reform might not be such a bad
idea.
Perhaps the most telling thing about this album is
the interview from XFM that has been included at the
end of the collection. It constantly references the
band's live performance and highlights the fact that
they were a great live band. Looking back across the
songs included here, it would not be unfair to
suggest that whilst we may not have lost a great
singles band, we have lost a band that were
undoubtedly capable of putting on hugely enjoyable
live shows.