Best-known for their 1997 drinking anthem "Tubthumping" and their infamous water-pouring Brit Awards stunt, anarcho-punk purveyors Chumbawamba's 17th studio album, Abcdefg, shows that although they are unlikely to ever pervade the public's consciousness in the same way again, their ability to create eccentric avant-garde pop from the most eclectic of subject matters remains firmly intact. Continuing to pursue the folk-pop direction of 2005's A Singsong and a Scrap and 2008's The Boy Bands Have Won... (the two albums recorded since slimming down to a five-piece), this concept album, based on the power of music, features a roll-call of British folk luminaries, from Bellowhead's fiddler Jon Boden to former Unthanks pianist Belinda O'Hooley to Oysterband's cellist Roy Cooper. But while its 15 tracks may have more in common with the likes of Belle & Sebastian than the leery Brit-pop of their chart-bothering heyday, its lyrical themes, which cleverly manage to incorporate their trademark Northern humor into even the most darkest of subjects, certainly hasn't adopted a mellower stance. There are a few unabashed celebrations of the joy music can bring, such as the West Coast/Celtic fusion of "Voices, That's All," an ode to the neglected practice of mass communal singalongs, and the beautifully evocative, string-soaked "Underground," an affectionate recalling of the time when young music lovers used to sneakily listen to transistor radios under their pillows at bedtime. But for the most part, Abcdefg focuses on politically charged, socially relevant, and historical stories and issues where music has become a powerful tool for protest, inspiration, and rebellion. "Wagner at the Opera," a percussive-driven cabaret number complete with football whistles and rattles, is based on the tale of a Holocaust survivor interrupting Israel's first recital of the German composer's works in 2000, due to his anti-Semitic beliefs; "You Don't Exist" is a gorgeous slice of winsome country which tells the story of the Klaus Renft Combo, who were denied the right to perform by the East German government because of their political views; while "Dance Idiot Dance," featuring the vocals of Coope, Boys and Simpson's Lester Simpson, is a dissection of the BNP's decision to reclaim English folk music for their own racist prerogatives, full of jaunty accordions and traditional Morris bells. Best of all is the shuffling jazz of "Torturing James Hetfield," a brilliantly subversive role-reversal response to the Metallica frontman's approval of their music as a torture device in Guantanamo Bay, which sees the band give him a taste of his own medicine by forcing him to listen to their Greatest Hits (of which they admit there's only one) at earth-shattering volume. Its sea shanty/village pub vibes may shock those only familiar with "that" song, but 28 years into their career, Chumbawamba appear to have perfected a sound which perfectly complements their utterly unique and uncompromising lyrical style.
© Jon O'Brien /TiVo