The Indelicates

The Indelicates are supposedly "despicable folk-rock cabaret with a mission to end all music". They definitely are the joint project of Julia (founding member of The Pipettes, who left for this band) and Simon (a well known figure of the Brighton music scene), with a bunch of talented musicians in tow.

The Indelicates became somewhat notorious early this year for writing a song entitled 'Waiting For Pete Doherty To Die' which was making the rounds. In fact, they have had over 8,000 downloads of their demos from their website. The song itself is a bit of a novelty number yet still has its charms, especially with the his-and-hers vocals.

"Neo-Brecht/Weill theatricality? Check. Profane razor strop wit? Check. Irreverent misanthropy? Check. Scathing socio-cultural critiques? Check. Acid sweet indiepop songcraft? Check. Meet the first Great band of 2006, the fabulously unfashionable, unfashionably fabulous Indelicates." - Rolling Stone

Fast forward a few months and I stumble across their cover of Billy Bragg's 'A New England'. Julia's smooth vocals, joyful strings and the jangly keys add a fresh and exciting twist to what is a fantastic song in its own right.

The Indelicates have just released their debut single 'We Hate The Kids', a cynical social commentary of sorts which probably wouldn't look out of place on an episode of Grumpy Old Men. I'm not sure why they nick the "dance to the radio" bit out of Joy Division's 'Transmission' but we can ignore that in lieu of the nasty wit and the lovely apt ending - "no more music, thank you and goodnight". B-side 'Burn All The Photographs' is a haunting affair with theatrical piano and particularly piercing vocals. Think Phantom Of The Opera meets the Reichstag fire of 1933 in Nazi Germany.

'We Hate The Kids' is out now on 7" vinyl. Buy from Sad Gnome Records (link).

The Indelicates - Waiting For Pete Doherty To Die
The Indelicates - A New England (Billy Bragg cover)
The Indelicates - We Hate The Kids (Demo)
The Indelicates - Burn All The Photographs (Demo)

You can also catch The Indelicates live at Rough Trade in Covent Garden for free on August 6th. For details on that and other dates, see their website (link).