At certain stages of my life, I tend to get hung up on one band for a while. It happened earlier this year when I heard Villagers' album Becoming a Jackal and fell totally in love with it. Without exaggerating, I went about two months without having a day off from listening to it all of the way through. However, with Villagers, it's just a case of listening to them. In the summer of 2010, I was obsessed with Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip, and, thankfully, I got to do more than just listen to them.
I should probably qualify by saying that no, I'm not a stalker, there were no restraining orders or any of that business, but I got to see the duo live twice, and even managed to interview them after one of the shows.
Yes, I realise that they both look mind-numbingly bored, but you would be too if you had spent the last 20 minutes fielding questions from a drunk fan who was a little overexcited to be there, and didn't stop smiling for about two days afterwards.
So back to the album. I borrowed it from a friend in the spring of last year and was instantly hooked. I'm not entirely sure how to put the duo into a genre. Perhaps it would be trip-hop, or electrorap? I have no idea, writers at NME are paid to come up with strange and diverse names for genres, I'm not. When I try to pigeonhole this, I just come up with 'awesome'.
Album opener Beat That My Heart Skipped throws us right into the action. Pip (rapper, vocalist, spoken word artist, owner of truly magnificent beard, left on photo) rallies into a monologue before telling us that he just 'wants to have some good new-fashioned fun'. Then Mr Le Sac (DJ and producer extrordinaire) brings the beats to the table, and away we go....
Perhaps the surprising thing after such a pulsating start is the gentle yet serious nature of some of the tracks on here. Tommy C is a delightful account of Tommy Cooper's life, put together as an argument for true beauty, while Magician's Assistant considers the effects on those around a suicide victim. It's powerful stuff, and put across with grace, in the duo's inimitable style.
They are though, also legends when it comes to having fun. Fixed is a scathing attack on the UK hip-hop scene, set to a Dizzee Rascal sample and Back From Hell is a relentless attack on the audio system which would get any clubnight up and down the country bouncing.
Personally, Letter from God to Man is easily my favourite track. Radiohead fans will pick up on the sample of Planet Telex, with added 'Danisms' beefing it up into a fully-blown dance track, but Pip's words, written as the title says, a letter from God telling the human race that he is disappointed in them, is truly excellent. Words, music, everything. Go and listen to it now.
And then of course is the big one. Thou Shalt Always. And I'll bet you've heard it before. It sees Pip reeling off his own interpretation of the 10 Commandments, except there are more than 10, and they are related to life now. Things such as "Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry" make this the big hit from the album, as it is fascinating and fun in equal measure. If you have time, go check out the video now, it lives up to the quality of the song with ease.
Where did I see the band? Glad you asked. While a whole load of people were excited to see Stevie Wonder on the final day of Glastonbury 2010, there was only one place that I wanted to be for my last set of the weekend, and that was in the Queen's Head stage, where the duo were headlining. Pinned to the barrier for the entire set, I've rarely seen a better live show, and it whet my appetite for more. The whole tent was rocking, and when they returned to perform Back From Hell as an encore, the place went nuts.
Luckily for me, they were also performing at Bingley Festival later in the year. Once again, I made it right to the front to catch the opening set of the weekend and was blown away by just how good they are live, only this time, thanks to Twitter, Mr Pip and their agent, the lovely Mrs Le Sac, I got to interview the duo afterwards.
Well spoken, as well as utterly entertaining, it was an absolute pleasure to chew the fat with the two musicians that I had spent all summer listening to. They even gave the missus and me their beer tokens as they were leaving. And if you don't believe that it happened, here you go...
So, all in all, what I'm trying to say is, if you've never heard Angles, go out and buy it now. No matter what you are doing, leave and go to purchase this album. If your boss asks what you're doing, show him/her this and I'll take the blame.
I cannot wait to see these two back at the festival this year, and will be making it a barrier hat-trick. Beat That My Heart Skipped states: "Oh good god damn and other such phrases, haven't heard a beat like this in ages". Trust me, you haven't.
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