November 2021. And I’m in the Resorts World Arena. I’m there – and I’ve bought my ticket too- to watch The Offspring and the Hives, but the day before, I’d had a press release about the opening act. They were intriguing, so I got there early.
“Kill the Queen. Why not man? She killed Diana”. That’s what Bobby Vylan said as his opening gambit that night and that’s precisely when they became my new favourite band (to paraphrase The Hives of course).
The “Price Of Life”, the album that came after, was stunning. It moved their headline shows from the Institute 3 to the main room in Birmingham, and they opened for Generation Sex amongst others.
It’d be tough to say Bob Vylan had reinvented themselves on “Humble As The Sun”, but the title track’s delivery is a slow burner. Its use of words is as good as anyone has done it, ever. It reflects on the last few years (“My album went to 18 but you know I’m number one”) but more than that it’s inspiring. “Black man shine” sings Jerub, who guests here, and OK, I’m not a black man, but this is for the struggle. Them against us. Pick a side. As Bobby himself might have said.
And this is a different-sounding Bob Vylan than on the first two. The drums, the rhythms, if not polished then the rough edges are gone on “Reign”. The “burn Britannia” theme remains, as does the ability to make you laugh, “Bob Vylan got robbed for a Mercury” he spits.
Then ….
Well, then halfway through the track, the gear changes, not far off drill, the beats are heavy, and “GYAG (Get Yourself A Gun) deals with a life that I’m glad I don’t understand, and the riff kicks in.
Britain’s most important band are back.
“Dream Big” was one of the first singles from the album, and they played it last year on their winter tour. Supremely well done. Working class struggle but from a very real place. “You can read Karl Marx until you’re blue in the face” it offers as if it’s accepted that ideology ain’t gonna save you in this Tory hell, or just hell, I guess
“Hunger Games” is another for the forgotten, the lost, the left behind. “Spin the wheel for the chance of a hot meal” (which is probably a segment on This Morning, with those crass wankers gurning with Johnson, getting selfies).
“Right Here” samples Fatboy Slim, and is catchy as hell, and the rapid-fire bile it spits makes it special.
“Makes Me Violent” is almost an indie banger, almost. What it absolutely is though is the type of anthem for “us” of the type Billy Bragg used to do (obviously in a totally different style) and of course, BV walks it like they talk it – ask Sleaford Mods…
“He’s A Man” – one they played at the gigs in November – is one for scum like Joey Barton, Lee Anderson, Laurence Fox and anyone else who watches GB News. Fuck them. And play them this when you do.
“Ring The Alarm” which has at its heart the hook, “You know I shot the Sheriff and you know I shot the deputy” takes us on to the streets of London, peeling back the curtain, too, for those that are luckier.
And “I’m Still Here” ensures there’s a race to the finish, moshpit ready: “They’ll never take me alive” sounds like a threat here. But Bobby and Bobby are protecting their legacy.
And they’re doing this by moving forward, pushing the boundaries.
This is “Humble As The Sun” it is not “The Price Of Life” and it is not “We Live Here”. Neither should it be.
It should be what it is, which is a document of where they’re at right now. Not then.
Bob Vylan remain one of the cleverest, most original and best bands we have in this era.
Rating 9/10
