After sporadically touring as a ‘hobby’, that wait is over. They have finally followed it up with ‘Prang’. After such a long time, it’s hard to know what to expect. Listen back to those big singles, and they show the band at their most straightforward. Most of their discography is weirder. Some consider them a pop punk band, but their music has little in common with Green Day or Blink-182. It’s a distinctive sound that leans more toward rock, but their songs don’t follow a template. Each feels different yet is clearly the work of the same band. ‘Prang’ shares these features, in effect it sounds exactly like a record made by A after a 20-odd year break, which is both its strength and weakness.

Broadly, the difference between this record and those from their heyday is it is being released by Cooking Vinyl and not a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. There is no pressure to write a huge chart-topping banger, so they haven’t. Instead, the songs lean in different, more interesting directions. It means the album is stranger than you might expect, taking longer to settle into, but it’s also comfortably the band’s most consistent record. In essence, it’s confident, unfiltered and delightfully weird.

Way back in the ‘Hi-fi Serious’ days, the band’s guitarist Marc Chapman appeared in Total Guitar Magazine. The article discussed his left-handed playing style and love for guitar solos. Here you can hear those skills being put to good use. While there is plenty of showing off, like the louche guitar solo on ‘Shit Summer’ or the wicked fretwork on ‘Kings Of Lowestoft’, mostly he’s writing interesting, thoughtful parts. Notably there’s a great interpretation of the classic ‘I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll’ on ‘All In’ which deploys the lick like an offensive weapon. Similarly, the hard sound that opens ‘Hello Sunshine’ has teeth but it chews rather than bites. The whole record is like this, in effect, tasteful.

That said the sound is surprisingly punk, featuring a rough, anything-goes edge that a lot of pop punk doesn’t. It’s most obvious on the delightfully rowdy ‘Techno Viking’ but even the more rocky ‘Back To The Shop’ feels nicely dangerous. Similarly ‘Walkover’ has a fast sway, driven by the snapping drumbeat.

The most notable thing, and perhaps shines a light on what it is that makes A so distinctive, is that the songs refuse to stay in one shape. This is a double edged sword. The band’s biggest hits are relatively straightforward and delight in repetition. Here they avoid that. Giles Perry’s keyboards are quite often used to give the songs a strange vibe or transition the song to a different space. In the case of ‘Bring On The Likes‘ it’s an awe-inspiring shift.

Jason Perry remains an ideal frontman. He’s armed with a distinctive voice that sounds unique, no matter how he expresses himself, along with a wicked sense of humour, a distaste for simple song structures and a restless creative energy. Throughout the record he favours a slacker vocal that is a mixture of singing, spoken word and melody. It’s tamed by age, but also bubbling with enthusiasm there is a cheekiness and a defined sense of humour. After the band’s initial run he worked as a professional songwriter, producing Grammy winning records, which might explain why this record sound so good. It’s biting and bassy but with a pleasing depth so that through decent headphones you can feel its rich tone.

Where once Jason Perry mocked old people as “losers” for not being able to use computers, here he’s cast as an old person himself struggling with the online world. It’s a canny choice and tells you a lot about his state of mind, although not quite as much as the discussion of mental health and struggling with cancer on the aptly named ‘Shit Summer’.

‘Bring On The Likes’ feels very much like a companion piece to their 1999 single ‘Old Folks’. It’s a stunning, spoken word, almost stream of conscious song. Indeed, Perry uses this approach on numerous tracks, it’s curious approach and defines the record’s entire feel. Often, he makes strange choices work counter to you’d expect, given the music. Take songs like ‘Back To The Shop’ which have a real “why would you use that as a chorus” vibe. It’s a common theme, a mismatch between what Jason Perry is doing and what you might expect. This is unusual and ultimately robs the album of a couple of straight-up classics, and yet, it gives the songs a strong character. This simply couldn’t be another record by another band.

‘Comment Leaver’ is sung from the perspective of a Daily Mail reader and is a barbed disassembly of that type of person. It also requires him to sing “I’m a little racist” which is a choice. Indeed this is a record full of interesting creative decisions, strong song writing and a talent that has aged like a fine wine.

‘Prang’ lacks a big, simple single to really grab you by both ears but it’s easily A’s most consistent album. It’s a record about finding humour in the passage of time, about having fun and keeping the spark alive. It’s about joy, it’s about love and if we ain’t got that then we ain’t got much and we ain’t got nothing, nothing.

IAN KENWORTHY

Originally released in 2003 on Chrysalis Records and Virgin EMI Records, the reissue will be released on the 9th February via Big Scary Monsters.

The band will also be going on a UK tour next month with A and Vex Red. The dates are as follows.

FEBRUARY
16 BRISTOL O2 Academy 2
17 MANCHESTER O2 Ritz
19 BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
20 GLASGOW O2 ABC
22 NOTTINGHAM Rock City
23 PORTSMOUTH Pyramids
24 LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
25 LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

The tour will be in commemoration for the 15th anniversary of the band’s debut album ‘The Neon Handshake’, which was originally released in 2003 via Chrysalis Records/EMI. The dates will be their first UK live appearances since their shows with Hundred Reasons and Cable in 2012. The London band were originally active from 2000 to 2008, where they released three albums, before going on a hiatus; their last release was their 2007 third self-titled album on Golf Records.

As for their supports: Suffolk alt rockers A have been playing shows sporadically since their mainly active run from 1993 to 2005. Their last release was their 2005 fourth album ‘Teen Dance Ordinance’ on Hollywood Records (US) and Warner Bros. Records (UK). Meanwhile Aldershot industrial/alt rockers Vex Red reunited last year and released their first new material since 2002 with the single ‘Burn This Place’.

As for their supports: Suffolk alt rockers A have been playing shows sporadically since their mainly active run from 1993 to 2005. Their last release was their 2005 fourth album ‘Teen Dance Ordinance’ on Hollywood Records (US) and Warner Bros. Records (UK). Meanwhile Aldershot industrial/alt rockers Vex Red reunited last year and released their first new material since 2002 with the single ‘Burn This Place’.

FEBRUARY 2018
16 BRISTOL O2 Academy 2
17 MANCHESTER O2 Ritz
19 BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
20 GLASGOW O2 ABC
22 NOTTINGHAM Rock City
23 PORTSMOUTH Pyramids
24 LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
25 LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

The shows will be in commemoration of the band’s debut album ‘The Neon Handshake’, which was originally released in 2003 via Chrysalis Records/EMI. The dates will be their first UK live appearances since their shows with Hundred Reasons and Cable in 2012. The London band were originally active from 2000 to 2008, where they released three albums, before going on a hiatus; their last release was their 2007 third self-titled album on Golf Records.

As for their supports: Suffolk alt rockers A have been playing shows sporadically since their mainly active run from 1993 to 2005. Their last release was their 2005 fourth album ‘Teen Dance Ordinance’ on Hollywood Records (US) and Warner Bros. Records (UK). Meanwhile Aldershot industrial/alt rockers Vex Red reunited last year and released their first new material since 2002 with the single ‘Burn This Place’.

FEBRUARY 2018
16 BRISTOL O2 Academy 2
17 MANCHESTER O2 Ritz
19 BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
20 GLASGOW O2 ABC
22 NOTTINGHAM Rock City
23 PORTSMOUTH Pyramids
24 LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

These Brighton boys also do their best to mix it with a vocal crowd tonight and just about hold their own in what turns out to be a very enjoyable set this evening that is sure to pick them up some new fans (I’m fully converted now) and see them as a band to really look out for in early 2010. They are the most impressive support band I’ve seen in a while and if A aren’t on it tonight they could well steal the show!

?A? shortly follow and a couple of old classics from the Monkey Kong album, including said track start things up before the first of many humorous anecdotes from Jason this evening follows after the hit ?Starbucks?. Despite the crowd being immediately into it I get the feeling the band are holding back, or at least I hope they are. Either way a very healthy portion of nostalgia is brimming in the audience tonight and to a degree on stage. This is helped further by Jason wearing an orange jacket very similar to that in the video ?Good Time?, when A were arguably at their commercially peak. That said song soon follows what’s becoming a greatest hits type set list tonight. ?I ♥ Lake Tahoe? is next and soon steals the show. No snow but the ?Na, Na’s? whilst being predictable and cheesy were good as the lights get turned out, seamless, well…. almost! Nothing and Something are obvious highlights towards the end of the night but since about half way through tonight A really stepped it up and any reservations about tonight are completely dispelled. A Van Halen cover as well. Excellent! Throughout the evening Jason’s dialogue with the crowd really added something as well and it doesn’t need him to tell you that this re-form is all about just having fun and enjoying playing rock music with your mates. I can’t help but feel this is something that maybe a few other bands could learn with re-appreciating. Brilliant!

Jamie

P: Do you wanna introduce yourself, and describe your sound for people who’ve not heard you?
D: Yeah I’m Daniel from ‘A’. Our sound is probably Jane’s Addiction meets Faith No More meets Green Day meets [pauses] oh I dunno.

P: The release of ‘Nothing’ has propelled you up the charts…
D: Yeah it’s done really well..
P: Apparently it’s 10th on the midweek sales?
D: Actually I think it’s 8th now, I’m not sure. We CD:UK this morning, which was kinda weird, strange you know?

P: Who else was there?
D: Well Kylie and Westlife had pre-recorded their stuff so there was White Stripes and Mystique.

P: Did you get to hang out with them then?
D: Nah I didn’t get a chance to meet Shaggy which was a shame, ‘cos that would’ve been wicked.

P: Where do you see ‘A’ going in the future now then?
D: I dunno [pauses to think]. The thing with us is, we’ve always done what we do, so we’ve been doing this for 5 years since I’ve been in the band, and we’re only just starting to get a bit of mainstream recognition for it. I can’t really say what I think’ll happen with [‘A’], it’s all good and whatever happens we’ll just carry on doing what we’ve been doing.

P: You’ve not always had the support you’re currently enjoying from the radio etc. though have you?
D: No, exactly, that’s the weird thing. In the mainstream way, there’s been a lot of things that’ve changed – there’s been a lot of American bands really breaking things open for everybody else, so you know it’s a good time to be out ready to go now, ‘cos everybody’s like, “Ooh yeah, rock music, that’s cool!”.

P: Do you think your attitudes towards the radio have changed at all?
D: Not really, you just have to have a healthy…[pauses] you’ve just got to take it as it comes really, we’ve never changed what we do, we’re always doing our thing really.

P: You’ve been fairly vocal in past about your treatment by the likes of Radio 1 though?
D: Yeah, because I think it was pretty criminal the way that when they were playing stuff on Radio 1 it was a case of like, “oh yeah we’ve got ONE slot for a rock band”, which is really lame…

P: And now they play ‘Nothing’ 4 or 5 times a day…
D: Yeah it’s going off at the moment, that’s it. It’s kinda scary, because everybody else’s expectations of what it should do and shouldn’t do are different from our stuff on the last record, where people were like, “yeah get on with it, whatever”. This time though people are like, “It’s gonna go here in the charts” and “you gotta do this, do that”, and that’s kinda weird. We’ve never changed our attitudes towards [the radio stations] really, it’s just kinda interesting that they’ve changed their attitudes towards us.

P: We’ve gotta ask this one, just what are so ace about buildings? [‘A’s first record is titled “How Ace Are Buildings?”]
D: I dunno it’s just… [pauses] we actually had the “buildings discussion” on the way up here, they’re cool – not that fucking monstrosity over there [points across the road], but… I dunno, buildings are just wicked, you know?

P: Have you got a favourite building then?
D: Probably Martello Tower, where we did all the demos for ‘Monkey Kong’. We thought it would be better to hire this place off the Landmark Trust, they let you hire castles and shit. So we did that, and it actually worked out cheaper than hiring a studio for 4 weeks, and we lived in this thing on the beach that’s like totally circular, it was amazing.

P: How did you find your recent US tours compared to touring over here in the UK?
D: Touring’s all good, the only drawback of touring is being away from your folks and stuff. We’ve been very lucky really. The [US] tour before the last one was kinda shit, because we’ve only had support stuff and the odd showcase gig, but that’s the way it is [over there], you just gotta go out with other bands. Our first and last tour were with Bloodhound Gang, which is always cool, ‘cos they’re great blokes. In the middle we did this tour with a band called the Marvellous Three, who were like Motley Crue, but in the worst way, and that was pretty miserable, being on tour with them for six weeks, playing to people who don’t give a fuck. It’s good to be in a support position really, just to get on and win over a crowd that’s never heard you before.

P: Back to ‘Nothing’ again, it’s totally different to anything else on the album, was that a conscious decision?
D: No, the wierd thing about it is there’s been a lot of people on our bulletin board saying, “Oh yeah, it’s like a real departure for us”, and that it “sounds like Linkin Park“, but it’s weird because, one of the biggest influences on us has always been Faith No More, and [Nothing] was kind of us doing that. It’s just something we wrote, and we thought it’d be good as a first single, because, for people in the UK it’s like we’ve been away for a long time, and this record would be like a kick in the arse to everyone. Yeah, a lot of the record is different from that, which is kinda why we wanted to do it as a first single, really.

P: Have you any idea what the next single’s gonna be?
D: Starbucks, probably.

P: If you got to choose one record from the past three decades what would it be (excluding your own stuff)?
D: ‘The Shape of Punk to Come’ by Refused, that’s an awesome record.

P: For any particular reason?
D: It’s just amazing, it’s one of the best hard records recorded, it’s just full on.

P: Is that what you’re listening to at the moment?
D: Well, that’s an old record but it’s one I’d take for definite; the stuff I’m listening to at the moment? Rival Schools obviously, that’s kinda why we wanted to get ’em on the tour, I’ve always been a fan of everything [Rival Schools frontman] Walter’s done before, I think the guy’s a genius. I still listen to loads of emo stuff, loads of Fugazi.

P: What do think of the new Get Up Kids sort of stuff?
D: Yeah, Get Up Kids are good, I like ’em, I liked the first EP a lot.

P: When you’re back in London, where’s the best place to hang out?
D: I dunno, we don’t do that much hanging out in London any more, every time we go back it just seems so fucking hectic. When I was in college all I ever used to do was go hang out in Slam City Skates with a few mates, which is like a decent Skate Shop, with a really good record store down stairs.

P: You gonna be making a trip back to Tahoe in the near future?
D: We normally go every new year, but we missed it obviously this year, with the new record coming out. Hopefully we’ll be able to go soon, though, ‘cos we haven’t been boarding in a long time. I think we’re doing some shows in Austria and Switzerland, so on our days off we’re gonna try and get out there a bit.

P: If you weren’t in ‘A’, what would you be doing right now?
D: I’d be in another band, because it’s something I’d probably have to do. Also I studied to be a graphic designer, I’ve done a couple of record sleeves for other people, I’d probably do that as well.

P: So what sleeves have you designed?
D: I did a load of stuff for Cable, did a couple things on RoadRunner, not that much recently simply ‘cos we’ve been so busy touring. That’s what I think I’d be doing, that and photography.

P: You’ve got £20 in your pocket, and nothing to do all day. Where do you go?
D: I dunno, I’d probably do what I’d do when I was unemployed, I’d just go out and wander round London and watch people, which is slightly weird maybe, but kinda entertaining. Then I’d go by myself a CD; it’s pretty much what I used to do anyway. Now we get to do it for free – we just did a bunch of instores for Virgin, we played London and
Leeds, and did signings in Newcastle and Glasgow too. They were cool, you get to meet loads of people, and get given loads of free CDs. It went off in London, it was like a gig, there were kids coming over and crowdsurfing. It’s good to do stuff like that, ‘cos it’s kinda weird to see a load of kids going sick in a record store.

P: I bet the store manager was having a fit…
D: Nah, they all seemed to love it. They’re all fans of music, I suppose, so it must make for an interesting day.

P: About your gig tonight, are you gonna be playing [Punktastic office fave] ‘No. 1’ tonight?
D: No, we’re not I don’t think.
P: Awww…
D: We are playing some stuff off the first record though. We’ve been doing ‘Cheeky Monkey’ recently, which is a weird thing. We thought we’d do it again because everybody didn’t want us to, all the people who were coming to shows. We thought it kinda set us back a bit, every time we were being interviewed it was, “Cheeky Monkeys ‘A’…”, so it pissed us off constantly for ages, so we didn’t play it for years.

P: Ah well, it was worth a try…
D: well, we’ll be coming back in May for the album tour, so maybe then. It’s one we did in rehearsal, but it never made it into the set.

P: Are we gonna be treated to Tahoe foam again?
D: No! We didn’t get the foam machine tonight [looks upset]. That stuff fucking stinks anyway, it’s not good.

P: Ok thanks for your time.
D: Cheers guys.

Check out the review of the Manchester gig here, also go take a look at the review of ‘Hi-Fi Serious’ by clicking here.

It’s been a long time since A toured our fair shores, touring with most notably
the Bloodhound Gang, with which they had so much fun they went back and did it
again. Now, with the release of their next album, ‘Hi-fi serious’, ‘A’ decided
it was time to remind everyone just how much they rock. And thus, the stage was
set for the ever enthusiastic band to make the floor shake once again in the
centre of Manchester.

Fresh from a slightly
disorientating morning appearance on cd:uk, ‘A’s front man Jason Perry , still
exhibiting his fluffy coat walked onto centre stage and it all kicked off, with
the band powering through the set with child like optimism. Despite becoming
slightly disgruntled with the amount of people referring to them as such, Jason
ominously exclaimed ‘There’s a lot of talk… and it’s gotta stop… this one’s
called cheeky monkey!’ – bursting into the old classic with a ravenous hunger
for rock; any doubts about whether ‘A’s act had changed due to their recent
chart success was immediately expelled, followed by a fleeting thought of ‘why
did I ever doubt them?’.

Fresh from a slightly disorientating morning appearance on cd:uk, ‘A’s front
man Jason Perry , still exhibiting his fluffy coat walked onto centre stage and
it all kicked off, with the band powering through the set with child like
optimism. Despite becoming slightly disgruntled with the amount of people
referring to them as such, Jason ominously exclaimed ‘There’s a lot of talk…
and it’s gotta stop… this one’s called cheeky monkey!’ – bursting into the old
classic with a ravenous hunger for rock; any doubts about whether ‘A’s act had
changed due to their recent chart success was immediately expelled, followed by
a fleeting thought of ‘why did I ever doubt them?’.

The inevitable appearance of
‘Lake Tahoe’ didn’t feel at all jaded or old, losing absolutely none of it’s
bounce worthy rhythm or solid vocals (with both backing and lead remaining
superb throughout) ‘This is our first sellout gig, thanks it means a lot to us’
Jason reminded us during the interlude, adding – ‘but if you mess this bit up,
I’m gonna take you outside and kill all of you!’ – but, thankfully, the crowd is
perfectly placed and perfectly primed to spring when the music re-enters the
foray – mass genocide was therefore avoided. Next single ‘Starbucks’ is
definitely one song I won’t mind hearing when I next walk into Mcdonald’s (I
hope they have that straw dispenser stocked MIGHTY well), and it’s played to
perfection; especially during the lone clean guitar of Mark Chapman before the
defiant voice of the frontman comes back in ‘don’t want your job in Starbucks!!’

Other favourites ‘Bad Idea’ and ‘Five in the morning’ received a pleasantly
surprising amount of cheers from the crowd; everyone knows the score and
everyone appreciates the classics – which adds greatly to the atmosphere of the
place; especially when you over half
the crowd going absolutely insane
at the masterpiece that is ‘Monkey Kong’. ‘Old Folks’ also got a look in , as
did recent single ‘Nothing’. Despite being not particularly fond of their most
recent release, it was pulled off in style, made all the more humorous by the
bizarre dancing techniques of JP. Credit where credit’s due however, with all
the Perry brothers and the rest of the band making it all blend together oh so
well.

The absence of a few favourites
was rather disappointing however, with the hurrendous omission of ‘No.1’ (we
begged them beforehand to play it, but sorry, to no avail) and ‘Miles Away’ or
the quite frankly ace ‘Down on the Floor’ – both happier than Steve Irwin in a
bare knuckle fight with a king cobra. ‘A’ are coming around to take another shot
in May or so, so I suggest you paint a crosshair on forehead and spend a little
of your hard earned cash on a ticket.

nick