Singles

Aaron Carey - The Scene

Anthony Page 19/09/2009

Rating: 4/5

Aaron Carey grew up in Bangor, Wales, where one of the women who have broken my heart went to university, but I won't hold that against him. I'm more likely to take issue with the fact that he played saxophone live for OPM (I'm sure you remember the dreadful teen anthem, Heaven Is a Halfpipe). Thankfully, this single has no hint of the evil skate-punk of that awful single. Instead, The Scene is a catchy indie-pop single taking a swipe at the current UK music scene. Not every part of it obviously, but the hideously clichéd, cool bands that keep popping up as the hottest new thing, only to be unmasked as a band of pretty hair cuts and nothing more. The sort of folk who praise them bore you with stories of how they saw them first, and who insist they own a eclectic record collection, but in actual fact just own the latest magazines top 100 cool list.

An easy target, yes, but a worthwhile one, in a time when guitar bands look like well-styled boy bands with a tiny hint of a dangerous edge and make music as uninspired as they look. When a single's this fun it makes it a must-hear, evoking memories of Jamie T, though Aaron might not enjoy being compared to someone who may well be amongst the targets of this song. Nonetheless, the similarity is there, in the playful nature of the song and the synth undercurrent bubbling below the guitars. The Scene also reminds me of the great, lost pop song Dreaming of Injured Pop Stars by Chris TT, and praise doesn't come much bigger than that if you ask me.

The Scene is one of the catchiest indie pop tunes you will hear this year and insults the hideous hair gel generation of indie guitar heroes, which without doubt makes it a winner.

Aaron Carey Myspace