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Itâs a bit of a task setting out your agenda in only eight songs yet thatâs what Hertfordshireâs Neils Children (now residents of East London) manage to do on their mini-album âChange/Return/Successâ with great aplomb.
Youâre wrong footed from the start when a Floyd-ian intro on opener and first single âCome Downâ builds a tense sonic-panorama before exploding into the song proper. And thatâs kinda what Neils Children are about. At first glance theyâre a Sex Pistolâs pastiche with Clockwork Orange overtones. Yet it doesnât take long to realise thereâs much more going on here. Not only does there seem to be a lurking tongue-in-cheek menace to their lyrics but thereâs also a lot of clever and subtle use of guitars and guitar effects, all coupled with the tribal pounding of a snareless drumkit a la Adam and the Ants.
This is a brilliant debut album, with the only criticism being that itâs far too short. Itâs a fantastic mix of early The Cure, visceral British punk and psychedelia, with a raw and unmatched passion that many âsaviours of British musicâ sadly lack to match even a smidgeon of. Letâs hope that there are several more siblings to come.
