The town of Ossett has never been praised for its cultural credibility;
the most that it’s ever been recognised for is ‘The Cribs’ and David Peace’s ‘Red
Riding’ novels. Frequently overshadowed by Sheffield or an hour and half on the
motorway to Manchester. But one small gem in a Yorkshire town of rough diamonds
is poet Matthew Abbott and producer ‘MiNIdOG’ going by the stage-name of ‘Skint
and Demoralised’.
Most people will know ‘Skint and Demoralised’ for their
period of being signed to Mercury in 2008-2010 when they appeared on the ‘Festival
Republic’ stage at Leeds Festival. Whilst at the same time, their single ‘Red
Lipstick seemed like it was being played on every BBC3 sitcom. But since then, they
have become something much more credible with their second album ‘This Sporting
Life’ almost being a love letter to the likes of Alan Sillitoe and Albert
Finney. Abbott’s change in style seems
to have been carried on in ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ with the title being an
ironic reference to the glamorous Capote novel and the location of the
narrative being a greasy spoon café.
It’s clear from the beginning that ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ is
being sold on the skill of Abbott as a poet with him attempting to mould himself
into something of a twenty-first century John Cooper Clarke. In some ways, this has been successful as
Abbott romanticises his ‘cosy little café’ with a build-up of alliteration as
he ‘fiddles for a fag’ and ‘swirl[s his] semi skimmed’ around his ‘steaming hot
mug’.
The instrumental of ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ is depths away
from the usual ‘Skint’ expectations of being a generic indie
track similar to the likes of ‘The Kooks’ set by their debut. Since
then, they seemed to have embarked onto new depths with ‘The Lonely Hearts of
England’ being reminiscent of Shane McGowan’s ‘Pogue Mahone’.
This ambition for providing something increasingly experimental musically is evident in ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ with a bassline more suited to Hooky in ‘She’s Lost Control’. This lack of originality isn’t a criticism as Abbott has always claimed to be a performance poet at heart and Skint have never claimed to be influenced by men such as Thom Yorke. At around the 1.00 mark, the chorus kicks in and it’s something that’s distinctly opposing Skint's down to earth style. It’s almost a haunting chant in the back of the character's mind to make a leave from his greasy spoon café and to hold the courage to ask the pretty visitor of the café on a date. Almost similar to the ending of 'Billy Liar', Billy holding a desire to escape but knowing that he ultimately will never hold the courage to take that step. The haunting basslines and the increased use of the advanced technology of a music studio in ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ seems like a refreshing change but at the same time seems like it belongs to artists like ‘Arab Strap’ and ‘The Kills’.
This ambition for providing something increasingly experimental musically is evident in ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ with a bassline more suited to Hooky in ‘She’s Lost Control’. This lack of originality isn’t a criticism as Abbott has always claimed to be a performance poet at heart and Skint have never claimed to be influenced by men such as Thom Yorke. At around the 1.00 mark, the chorus kicks in and it’s something that’s distinctly opposing Skint's down to earth style. It’s almost a haunting chant in the back of the character's mind to make a leave from his greasy spoon café and to hold the courage to ask the pretty visitor of the café on a date. Almost similar to the ending of 'Billy Liar', Billy holding a desire to escape but knowing that he ultimately will never hold the courage to take that step. The haunting basslines and the increased use of the advanced technology of a music studio in ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ seems like a refreshing change but at the same time seems like it belongs to artists like ‘Arab Strap’ and ‘The Kills’.
But
then again, MiniDog in the video does have a certain look of Jamie Hince. Or is that
just me?
Lyrics – 10/10
Instrumental – 7/10
Overall, ‘Breakfast at Sylvia’s’ is something refreshing for the ‘indie’ circles in the beginning of 2013 and maybe just for them who just crave some ‘authentic northern wit’. It’s something of an indie track that seems like it’s written for a ‘Phoenix Nights’ special; or more likely for Katie and Ryan’s moment of Kebab shop intimacy in Wednesday night’s ‘Coronation Street’ which I can assure you is far from a criticism.
