Griff says; Bentcousin - it's a family affair!

Well, here's a little surprise for you - a 'Griff says' piece on a Sunday night. I hope that those of you who were eagerly awaiting Gordon's latest ramblings aren't too disappointed, I'm sure he'll have one up soon. In the meantime, it seems I'm the only Streetlamper physically able to post tonight, so you'll just have to accept it. Those of you who read the blog regularly will have realised that our cycling obsessive, Ray, has probably exploded into a thousand little pieces of fairy dust today due to his excitement at the various UK riders' success at le Tour this year. Gordon, meantime, has been badly delayed by an excess of cheap wine and subtitles due to this weekend's bad weather causing us all to stay indoors and accidentally inaugurate the first Streetlamp International Film Festival - a virtual 24 hours of foreign language film watching and lounging around at my house - more of which later, no doubt.
Anyway, I've got something you're all going to like a lot in the form of Brighton's Bentcousin. I don't know a lot about them to be honest, and I suspect that some of the stuff that's posted about them on the net is deliberate misinformation, as they come across as the sort of playfully mischievous types who like to mess around with journos and bloggers. Quite right too, all of the best punk bands did that very thing, as I remember. And that punk reference is a little indication of what to expect from them musically - a melange of tweeish indie-pop with a slice of punky attitude to stop it becoming too cutesy.

So, the band appear to have been formed by 'twins' Pat and Amelia who seem to be backed by three(?) other musicians, one of whom is apparently their uncle. Is that true? I don't know and, frankly, I don't think it really matters - we're all here for the music and Bentcousin certainly deliver on that front. I came across Bentcousin on Idle Fret's free download EP for July and I instantly loved their contribution, the track I Think I Like You Girlfriend More Than You, a song which bears more than a passing resemblance to the sound of Trixie's Big Red Motorbike, a band I have lionised on these pages previously 'here'.
I've embedded I Think I Like You Girlfriend More Than You below for your listening pleasure. Note too that it is available as a free digital download, you lucky people!



Checking out their soundcloud page, I discovered that they had more tricks up their sleeve than jazz-tinged twee-pop and that they can scuzz it up with the best of them. Witness, for instance. I Wanna Be Your Slave, which is not the Iggyesque paean to BDSM that the title may suggest but is, instead, a clever assault on the mindset that allows the ritual humiliation of the uncomprehending participants of current TV 'talent' shows. Have a listen:

I Wanna Be Your Slave by bentcousin

Please visit Bentcousin's soundcloud page to hear what else they are up to. In particular, check out the song Felicity, which is surely the 'bent cousin' of Primal Scream's Velocity Girl. The band are also on facebook, where I'm sure you'll find details of upcoming gigs. The band also have a witty and amusing wordpress site 'here' if you are intent on full-on internet stalking.

Enjoy.

Griff
xx