Sandi Thom has joined the ever-increasing ranks of musical artists using the Internet to further their career. Quotes of “unsigned act reaches x-hundred thousand fans online” are a weekly occurance these days but how much is hype and how much is deserved recognition?
This story starts with two (or was it three?) weeks’ worth of webcast performances from a basement flat in London. The first show attracted 20 (or was it 70?) listeners, by the end of the run over 160,000 were tuning in. Or was it “almost 200,000”? That’s the thing with Internet stories, facts are very flexible depending on where you read them. What is certain is that any performer claiming that bandwidth for 100,000+ streamed webcasts is cheaper than touring the country in a beat up old van has already started the PR spin machine. What else is certain is that when they come out of it all with the desired recording contract to a major label and debut single reaching for number two in the mid-week charts they’re probably worth at least a wee listen.
Lead track I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker is a great showcase song for any female vocalist, it’s nicely written and the well produced minimal instrumentation is all that is needed to hook you straight in to the “I love Sandi Thom” brigade. It’s romanticising things that never existed though—70s punk was nothing like this Top Shop Ramones t-shirt version, but nevermind that, it’s a nice fairytale and sits well with the “this isn’t quite the exact truth” PR hype surrounding its release. The important thing is it’s a good song and sung well, the cringeworthy artistic license can be forgiven just this once.
But enough of this is already known by everyone this week, what about the rest of the album? Well, it’s good. Opener Horsepower is in the same simple melody vein as Punk Rocker but with less emphasis on the vocals—do some of those high notes seem a stretch to reach though? Lonely Girl and Little Remedy shall sit happily next to anybody’s favourite female vocalist tracks and Time is perfect as the bittersweet rainy day song to finish on. The rest are growing on me more and more with each listen and I guess they’ll stick around my playlist long after the catchy hook of Punk Rocker has lost me.
Many Internet success stories we’re told about have no real substance to them past the hype and PR spin. Some transfer incredibly badly to other media—the world just does not need another Crazy Frog album, seriously. Sandi Thom offers up a good album package here, there are no life-changing genius moments but my cynicism has been beaten and I’m a definite fan.
I wish I’d had the chance to see just her and a guitar play to three friends and maybe two OAP drunks in some smoke-stained pub with horrible PA. It would have most likely sucked but rose-tinted retrospection is the theme of the day. Maybe it was better in the olden days of my childhood?
