(Standalone single)
Between you and I, Carter has been on the hit-list for an entry on this blog, for a while now. Its been almost a week, now, since the last review, and this one's pretty much typing itself - I'm rather excited...
My introduction to the USM (Unstoppable Sex Machine) happened about a year ago, and it came in the form of seeing my Dad's copy of "Sheriff Fatman", the incredible cover or a Gibson guitar stuck, head first, in a grimy toilet screaming out at me and, inevitably, prompting some questions. Who was this band? Did their other tracks have lyrics as incredulous as these, written on the sleeve, next to the photograph? I had to know...
So I had a dip into the rather brief career of Carter USM. The albums were pretty good all in all, some great covers (The Smiths' "Panic", and, perhaps even better, Pet Shop Boys' "Rent"), and some very humorous artwork.
Made (in)famous by Fruit-Bat (the guitarist) head-butting Phillip Schofield after playing the song on children's TV, and also for the lengthy lawsuit with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards following unprecedented use of the "Ruby Tuesday" refrain, "After The Watershed" is a bit of a curveball in the discography, also because its a standalone single. So I had a listen. Things got weirder. Now it was their best song - and not on one of their albums...
It starts with a great synthesised violin line, before bursting wildly, Carter style, into keyboard haven with a rave style bass riff, but more intelligent sounding. Jim-Bob's rough, uneducated accent gives the telltale USM edge to the track, as well as the continued use of synthesised classical instrument. The drums are heavy and indie, and there's even a pretty darn sexy guitar riff over the top - anybody who knows Carter's tracks will find these to be the standard elements of any song, but here they are pulled off extremely well. Everything goes quiet with just a high tone synth/drum machine popping and some husky vocals, which, rip off The Rolling Stones...then the crescendo builds up, escalates, die and jumps back up again - its one of those classic 'punch-in-the-face" punk/indie songs, except it rolls in at a far more fulfilling 4 and a half minutes.
Now, I don't suppose I'll ever understand the decision there to have it sitting by itself, but its what drew me in regardless. Its also got a pretty good sleeve, especially in conjunction with the lyrics - a comedic lament about a disturbing and graphically sexual image viewed 'after the watershed', telling the tale of watching late-night programming, underage, with an erection, scarred for life and made never to view adult images again by what's been seen - classic indie comedy; better, on this occasion, in fact, than the usual king of indie music, if you don't mind my saying...
The overall atmosphere of this track is great; I love the music, the lyrics make me laugh, the sleeve's great and the finished package has a feeling of late 80s finesse, with a perfect combination of rough Londoner's vocal, posh-boy's synthesiser beats, and of course, the classic, genius indie bass and guitar combination.
I'm going to see the band, supported by Cud and Ned's Atomic Dustbin on November 10th at the Brixton Academy and, I suspect, they'll play this track - I dearly hope so.
Do yourself a favour, and listen to this - its bloody epic.
★★★★★
Versions of "After The Watershed (Early Learning The Hard Way)"
Single Version – 4:28