The general consensus about ‘Surrounded By Idiots’ is that it’s Vanilla Pod‘s best record to date. To be honest I wouldn’t really disagree with that assessment. Whereas I’ve always felt the Pod have been a little overrated and left in the shadows of some of their contemporaries, this record is choc-full of singalong anthems and fist in the air moments. It sounds better, has far bigger balls and generally has the feel of a great record. In short it’s what you’d expect from a Deck Cheese release.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes the Pod better, except that everything sounds great. ‘L10’ rocks like a baby in a cradle while the vocals in ‘Waterdown‘ really make the song. They’re so incredibly distinctive and if it wasn’t for Rob’s warblings I doubt the song would be quite so effective. The guitars really drive and the drums hit hard too, it’s poppy skate punk at its finest. The title track is a classic track and a real rant at everything that’s wrong with the music industry. “This industry is full of bullshit” they sing as they lambast Avril and Busted and it’s a fair cop guv. But it’s the last four lines of the second verse which really ram home why the Pod are important and why the punk spirit needs to remain alive – “Thanks to all the zines that showed interest, and all the bands we’ve played with it’s appreciated, as long as there are people that still like us, we don’t give a fuck about the ones that fucking hate us.”
The melodic moments continue in earnest with the fast and furious ‘Pro Ho’ being rattled out like an early MxPx song with an English vocalist. The spite is still there lyrically, ‘Summertime’ seems to hint at a disillusionment as a band that are veterans within the scene yet don’t actually sem to have made it, while lesser bands have gone on to make a living out of their chosen career. The song itself isn’t one of the best, but the lyrical message is as clever as always. Then there’s ‘Dejavu’, a track which when I read the lyrics I can’t help but think it’s a tongue-in-cheek stab at the cry-baby emo bands who wail about girls. But then maybe it’s not and I’m just being a cynical old hack. Either way, ‘Rewind’ rocks like a bastard and will nicely fit onto the odd summer mixtape.
If you didn’t like Vanilla Pod before then you probably will now. This is a record that builds on the elements they brought to the party before and makes them better. It’s not particularly fresh or original, but in terms of winding the car window down and blasting out some British punk rock with balls, I know I’d like to be surrounded by idiots.
www.vanillapod.org
Paul