The opening to this sees an auctioneer, played by Erik Olsen, selling “a second-hand rock career”. They buy it from CJ Ramone, who tells them, when they try to sell it back: “You’re a lifer now, there’s no refunds.”
Pet Needs selling out? Purleese.
“Elbows Out! This Is Capitalism” is a kind of concept album, made by a group that has seen the shine come off the record business a bit — if it was ever there in the first place.
“Tour Worn” makes that clear, and “Hey You Hey You (Are You OK OK?)” sees them “far away from their postcode” and “a little out of control of my life.”
“Ducklings” is rapid-fire and clever as it pokes fun at social media, and actually, you can say that about most of this record.
“The Wardrobe Song” is a prime example. The world is crumbling, but they can still poke fun at themselves.
“Party With A Hard T” goes straight to the disco, and it’s not much of a stretch to think that if The Hold Steady were from Essex, they’d be doing something like this.
Proudly underground, Pet Needs aren’t on the “daddy paid for this playlist”, and “Pixels” wrestles with a desire to be less reliant on technology in a smartphone world.
Above all, though, these are just brilliant songs: brilliantly conceived and highly original. “Top Score” is as British as British punk rock gets, “The Ship Is Still Sinking” has a Billy Bragg reference that earns bonus points, and given this is arguably the least clichéd band in the UK, the chorus here is surely ironic.
“Paintballs”, where the title of the album comes from, changes the pace and is almost spoken word. Scott Lavene would be proud as they draw from their own experiences as a band.
“You Can Only Imagine” and “Keep Eyes On” are more songs where they find that music isn’t what they dreamed of as kids, but the way the chorus explodes suggests they aren’t stopping any time soon.
“Vertical” chugs along like the best scrappy indie, and “Can We Get This Straight” ends it on a reflective note. As Johnny sings, “I’m not chasing fame,” you know that whatever their reservations, Pet Needs aren’t selling this punk rock career any time soon.
They’ve worked too hard, and they’re too good at it.
The last line of the record, though, is all you really need: “I swear I got better this time.”
“Elbows Out! This Is Capitalism” is a career high, and they were pretty damn good to start with.
As bold as it is brave, as brilliant as it is biting.
RATING 9/10
