Party: RAT BOY / ZIBRA | 27.09.15 | CLWB IFOR BACH

Party: RAT BOY / ZIBRA | 27.09.15 | CLWB IFOR BACH

Swn presents
RAT BOY
ZIBRA

27.09.15
Clwb Ifor Bach
Tocynnau / Tickets: £8
http://bit.ly/1IkmDrg
7.30pm
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'From his name to his music and words, Rat Boy sounds scabby, the scummy, shabby – and these are compliments. He is an 18-year-old from Essex. You know those stories you read about how one of the cast members of The Only Way Is Essex had their boutique windows vandalised, quite possibly because they’re called boutiques? Well, Rat Boy sounds like the sort of character who might have lobbed the brick. His real name is Jordan Cardy. Apparently, he used to work at Wetherspoons but got the sack, and was turned down by McDonald’s.

Then again, Cardy writes, plays (guitar, bass, keys), programmes (the beats), raps/sings and produces his own music, so he is at once the protagonist of the songs and a fictional alter ego for the dissemination of his ideas about life and society. Inevitably, he will be hailed as the authentic voice of disaffected youth, the new Jamie T/Alex T: for some idea of the content of his debut mixtape, think Arctic Monkeys’ Riot Van scenario played out over six tracks. Basically, if the kid from Kes was around now, only from down south, and more into sexting than kestrels, then he might be Rat Boy. On Hanging Around he moans about a “police car coming round the bend” and “the latest trend”. It nails Rat Boy’s concerns: scuffles with authority and what to wear on the rob or on the pull.

The music he uses to spread his messages is a neat, powerful brand of indie hip-hop rock, all samples, sound effects, slashes of guitar and machine beats, over which Cardy barks like a particularly pissed-off dog. People he reminds us of include Shaun Ryder and the bloke from Flowered Up. Remember Flowered Up? They were a London version of Madchester, peddling a similar kind of blissed-out “baggy”, only it was undercut by an air of menace. We once – true story – interviewed Flowered Up in a pizza restaurant in Islington, and at the end, the band did a runner, leaving us with the bill. That sense of tawdry excitement, hopelessness and shame is very Rat Boy. More songs about cheap thrills and budget sportswear. One to watch, probably over your shoulder, in the dead of night, after the pubs have shut, the fights have started and the chip shops are doing a roaring trade.'

- From 'New Band Of The Day' (Guardian)