SINGLE REVIEW: Eyesore and the Jinx - An Ideas Man
Eyesore and the Jinx challenge post pandemic landlords' greed on new single 'An Ideas Man'.
Musically 'An Ideas Man' starts fairly simplistic with an overall lo-fi, DIY, bedroom sound of scratchy guitars, plodding drums and trudging bass. The track has a bit of a deconstructed, underproduced, music by numbers (and I mean that in a good way) punk meets indie vibe. Building with crashing bold, dramatic un-tempo mayhem mirroring the frustration in the words. It sets the background well for the vocals and lyrical matter.
The vocals are preppy but raw with Art Brut style theatrics and Jarvis Cocker-esque flamboyance. They're interesting and unique, fitting the low key tone of the track perfectly.
The lyrics are where 'An Ideas Man' makes its true impact. Sitting atop of a slightly chaotic, understated sound they rage at money hungry landlords. Working in housing and living in a property owned by the landlord from hell the words rang true for me at every turn.
Splitting small properties into even smaller ones, charging the earth to live in accommodation that barely meets basic human requirements. Wanting high class tenants in low class living conditions. It features the idea of judgement of the lower classes booming with the line "that no one helped me along my way, except my parents and the parents of my parents, parents'' furthering the familiar notion of the rich getting richer while the poor forever struggle. It's a song about hating landlords, their parasitic nature and their obsessive greed.
Of the track singer/bassist Josh says:
"Inspired by the post-pandemic explosion of #propertytok, 'An Ideas Man' is about the cult of landlordism and a parasitic ideology which has become pervasive in its wake. It's about exploitation masquerading as philanthropy and the pursuit of a passive income which has become celebrated rather than shamed. In short, it's about how much I fucking hate landlords."
'An Ideas Man' is a very real track sharing the struggle so many of us live through, spending more than we can afford to live somewhere that doesn't suit our needs owned by a landlord who's happy to take our money but the moment they have to spend theirs on repairs it's a whole other story. It's a fantastic unique, lyric that has true meaning, providing food for thought for anyone who lives, or has lived in rented accommodation.
