According to a variety of social media outlets, Scustin are purveyors of “Post-Funk” which they create by blending humorous storytelling with a jazzy funk take on indie rock. Their sound was created by imagining what would happen if Blindboy, Mike Skinner and Jamiroquai went for a boozy night out in Bray a coastal town located about 20 km south of Dublin and wrote an album about it. Said album `Confessions of a Pub Talker` takes us on a journey based around a fictional pub with Larry as our narrator and guide.
We head into this release via `The Man Behind The Bar` a spoken word account in praise of a barman who is at times a kind of priest or confessor but most of all the glue that binds the community together. We have a late night jazzy vibe intro to `Social Scene` which is a kind of day in the life of the chronicler in a small town in Ireland and his job as a bartender. A funky setting ends with a blend of Irish trad and pop.
‘The Ick’ is really about the horror of adding blackcurrant to Guinness. Its pumping dance shaded heartbeat allows an anguished diatribe of said crime along with other pearls of wisdom we are gifted on route. For me `The Killer` is a number that Fun Lovin` Criminals would be proud of, nuff said.
`Charmer` has a bass line that the late Bernard Edwards would find satisfying and a track that Daft Punk should cover, a real dance floor filler. A dreamy funky backdrop pervades `Deep Dirty Bastards` a tale of criminal shenanigans involving mainly pharmaceutical substances.
`Sham, The Bouncer` is another funky freak out and at times had an almost Red Hot Chili Peppers come Rage Against The Machine style about it. There`s a meandering soul tinged funk tale with `Drinking Cans In A Field With Matt Damon` a number that will possibly become clear when heard.
`Happy As Larry` is the turgid morning after the night before. An account of sobering up, scrolling your ex`s social media and pledging to give up the gargle all shared over a wonderful roaming funky backbeat. A kind of realistic groundhog day. We have in ‘I’m Never Flying With Ryanair Again’ an amusing reflection on the joys of budget travel but underneath lies a sharp critique of blame culture.
The album concludes with `Our Regards` a stream of consciousness about the narrator`s abode and generally his hometown city of Dublin, a place which appears to be pricing the locals out. The release is interspersed throughout with short Skits such as `Bray`s Very Own Cassanova` a self-important romancer, a forecasted threat of violence with `Larry Ya Little Rat`, meeting an adolescent acquaintance who is now a Dublin yuppie in `The Wolf of Harcourt Street` and `Southern Ireland` an encounter with a condescending border control official.
I have to say I loved this album and it`s kind of loose concept that bonded the numbers together. There`s plenty of political and social discourse but shared via a funky dance beat.
Do we really need an excuse to head to Larry`s Bar in Bray where a pint of plain is your only man as long as you don’t make the mistake of putting blackcurrant in it !!
Rating 9/10
