Joe Hutch
Mate of the bloke
From Tribune no less:
https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/08/half-man-half-biscuit-the-voltarol-years-review
When tackling big ideas, Blackwell’s lyrics still focus on the minutiae for a broader, more impressionistic result (Julian Cope has criticised them for sweating the small stuff, which seems to miss the point entirely). The Voltarol Years showcases some of Blackwell’s most poignant song writing, substantiated by the fact that on recent records the spectre of the grim reaper has become more and more visible. ‘Slipping The Escort’ is ostensibly a song about dementia built on small detail: life insurance adverts, choices of karaoke songs, and—naturally—an obtuse reference to Welsh football team Airbus. Blackwell’s writing has always had the structure of a tapestry, using fragmented, humorous images to build a bigger picture. The band haven’t lost their appreciation for the trivial either: ‘In A Suffolk Ditch’ takes the Room 101 concept and bludgeons the listener with a litany of one-liners, ‘Token Covid Song’ is a reasonably light-hearted piss-take of online narcissism, and highlight ‘Awkward Sean’ is a vivid speculation on a local oddball, using some magnificent cultural references to paint this particular black sheep: ‘We had Slade/We had The Sweet/Sean had Chicory Tip’.
https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/08/half-man-half-biscuit-the-voltarol-years-review
When tackling big ideas, Blackwell’s lyrics still focus on the minutiae for a broader, more impressionistic result (Julian Cope has criticised them for sweating the small stuff, which seems to miss the point entirely). The Voltarol Years showcases some of Blackwell’s most poignant song writing, substantiated by the fact that on recent records the spectre of the grim reaper has become more and more visible. ‘Slipping The Escort’ is ostensibly a song about dementia built on small detail: life insurance adverts, choices of karaoke songs, and—naturally—an obtuse reference to Welsh football team Airbus. Blackwell’s writing has always had the structure of a tapestry, using fragmented, humorous images to build a bigger picture. The band haven’t lost their appreciation for the trivial either: ‘In A Suffolk Ditch’ takes the Room 101 concept and bludgeons the listener with a litany of one-liners, ‘Token Covid Song’ is a reasonably light-hearted piss-take of online narcissism, and highlight ‘Awkward Sean’ is a vivid speculation on a local oddball, using some magnificent cultural references to paint this particular black sheep: ‘We had Slade/We had The Sweet/Sean had Chicory Tip’.