The Arrogants - No Time To Wait
- Written by Debbie Sheringham
Here we have 5 (achingly) young handsome guys from France. Too cool for school, and with an attitude to match. With a name like The Arrogants, you really wouldn’t expect anything less than good old in-your-face, middle finger, garage rock.
These guys have had quite a journey in their young lives so far: supporting the likes of The Pretty Things and Lenny Kravitz to date.
Produced by French Londoner Healer Selecta (aka Yvan Serrano of The Dustaphonics), and recorded at the vintage studio of the National Belgian Corporation in just three days; theirs is an authentic and minimal sound.
Particularly reminiscent of the earlier output of gargantuan groovy German garage monsters The Satelliters (pre de-masking) as well as the sound of a trillion '60s garage bands before them.
Their opening track ‘No Time To Waste’ has organ, snarling vocals and familiar riffs by the shovel full. ‘Move’ is a real teaser, as is ‘Flashing Lights’ both are fast, with diminishing chords and speed changes which add to their intensity.. ‘I’m No Fucking Mozart’, is genius. Screamer ‘Mr Devil’ and all the aforementioned are full of fuzz, relentless energy and fun.
Instro’s ‘The Arrogant’s Theme’ and ‘UFO’ are go-go groovy; distinctly Mod and, well, very French!
‘Velocity’ is more of an R&B affair with a '1-2-5' harmonica, whilst ‘Santraa’ is a psyched-out after party, with a sexy sitar.
What you get from this LP is a varied collection of songs, with a real sense of urgency, which drags you kicking and screaming into the moment. It’s also music to dance your pretty ass off to, which is massively important.
It's somewhat of a relief to know that '60s influenced garage rock is prevailing with the younger generation, notably with bands like The Arrogants, Les Grys Grys, The Missing Souls and The Baron Four. It's certainly good news for us middle aged punksters - we can now relax a little, the future of garage rock is in capable hands. This is a crackin’ first album, and my favourite release of this year. There is no time to waste - go and buy it now.