“The Futureheads” are a four-piece English post-punk revival band from Sunderland. Their unique band name, “The Futureheads” comes from one of The Flaming Lips record called “Hit To Death In The Future Head”. The Futureheads consist of Barry Hyde (Vocals and Guitar), David Craig (Bass and Backing Vocals, also known as Jaff), Ross Millard (Guitar and Backing Vocals) and Dave Hyde (Drums and Backing Vocals, younger brother of Dave and also replaced former member of The Futureheads, Peter Brewis). And according to Channel 4’s 4 Music, Barry Hyde revealed that Dave was given a guitar as a gift by their parents when they were young. However, Barry took the guitar away from Dave to learn his first strum on the guitar. As a result, Dave was left with nothing, he had to take up the drums.
This Is Not The World is really an album that keeps the tempo going, never in a second This Is Not The World slow the tempo down. It’s full of energy, handclaps, guitar, drums and everything that keeps you going and rocking to This Is Not The World. 🙂 It’s very hype!
This Is Not The World by The Futureheads launched its opening with the groovy and anthemic “The Beginning of The Twist”. Barry goes, “It’s time to wake up, it’s time to change, let’s get it started… I can feel it, i conceal it, i can feel it coming, the beginning of the twist…” From the lyrics, i can tell that The Futureheads are ready for a new chapter in their life, a new beginning, a new year and a wholelot of new troubles to overcome. There’s no space to breath in The Beginning of The Twist, only space to groove along with it and to enjoy it! Crazy opener! 🙂
“Walking Backwards” is another anthemic indie rock song. “Walking backwards, with nothing to say, walking backwards, so get out of the way…” As if The Futureheads wish they could turn back the times and undo the things that they did. Similarly to the first track, this song is full of non-stop guitar riffing, drums pounding, bass playing. Two rockable songs in a row that will definitely get you up and rock along. 🙂 No doubt, if you’re going to a gig, you are looking forward to have a good time. Well, you can rock, dance, groove and sing with Walking Backwards.
The third track off This Is Not The World is called “Think Tonight”. Yet again, it doesn’t slow the tempo down, it builds your tempo further up and keep yours momentum going. 🙂 “You will never find anyone, to come along and take you by surprise, because you’ve had too much to think tonight”, Barry yells and sings at the chorus. Think Tonight is more of a complicated yet romantic indie punk rock song. If you pay attention to the lyrics, you’ll know what The Futureheads are trying to express. This song is all about a girl…
Wow, “Radio Heart” starts with some infectious drum beats that you already knew at the moment, this song is going to be brilliant! 🙂 And voila, it gets better at the chorus. The verses are catchy in a way, guitar and bass playing at the same times. When Barry sings, “Go with the radio heart…” A faint distance of “wooo wooo” can be heard. It sounds like some special instrument, or is it the rest of The Futureheads are making that voices or sound? One thing is for sure, the vocals are harmonized in Radio Heart! Brilliant!
“This Is Not the World” has a non-stop guitar plucking and bass playing sound to it, reminding me of Blink 182. 🙂 It can be clearly heard during the verses, as if The Futureheads are not tired of playing it. Which is a good thing, as i don’t want the tempo to be slowed down, i’m enjoying it. So far so good! 🙂 “This is not the world, this is not the end, this is not a crime…” Great Anthem!
Another amazing track called “Sale of the Century”. From the beginning, the guitar already impressed me. So what do i do? I just sit back, relax and let Sale of the Century rock me in my rocked chair. 🙂 Up till the sixth track of the album, This Is Not The World shows no signs of slowing down. It just keeps on rocking us, the listeners and the audience. Barry’s voice in this track sounds sarcastic, especially during the verses. When it comes to the chorus, the rest of The Futureheads backed Barry up with, “ah ah ah…” Sale of the Century is full of loud guitars, drums and bass. I find loud is The Futureheads’ cup of tea.
“Hard to Bear” is another anthemic track from The Futureheads. The starting with the drums rolling, it sounds like a song used in a march. 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very good song. “Hard to bear… Difficult to watch… Hard not to care… When it means so much…” It’s about a guy who has just broken up with his girlfriend, therefore it’s hard to bear. 😉 However, I can imagine a group of armies marching together and singing to this track. Hm, it can even be edited, and re-composed to a patriotic anthem. Just a suggestion.. 🙂
I like how “Work Is Never Done” begins. The bass is kind of cute, and the guitar keeps playing. From start to finish, the music is brilliant! It’s about the stress and pressure of working in the city, by the end of the day, whatever stress and pressure we have gone through, our work has yet to be done. And this time, it’s Ross who takes the lead. What a turn, perhaps Barry needs a break after all of the yelling and screaming. 🙂 “The city’s getting bigger, but everybody slowly moves away, your accent gets thicker, the blood is getting thinner everyday…” Sounds scary?
“Broke Up the Time” starts off with a bang. This track sounds like it has two parts. The verse and the chorus, every time The Futureheads reaches the chorus, the music changes, great playing by them. They make it looks so easy. 🙂 “We broke up the time and put the pieces in a different order…” Whenever in chorus, Barry sounds as if he has no time to breath. It’s such a long sentence to sing out, but the music made him. And we all enjoy it.
“Everything’s Changing Today” is catchy in its own way. When it comes to the chorus, “Everything’s changing today, getting further and further away…” You can hear the background voices, where they go like the sounds of crows. 🙂 Really! It’s not a bad thing, it’s something great if you can have some varieties to your music. What to expect from this track? It’s telling the story about a girl who always does the same things everyday, who never wants to change… Until today… The lyrics are hard to understand, but the music is still great.
“Sleet” is another track that reminds me of Blink 182 at the beginning. With some little but non-stop pluck-playing of the guitar throughout the track. It’s kinda cute whenever The Futureheads do that. 🙂 When the chorus comes, the guitar plays a big role in making this a catchy song. “Let’s go to sleep, but let’s not go to bed..” Hm, some hidden meaning behind it. This song is cute, at times, you will enjoy its start stop playing of music.
“See What You Want” is the last track on This Is Not The World. It’s not a bad way and song to end the album as well. After a few listens, this song has the potential to be a hit and an anthem. 🙂 We can go, “See what you want to see, but don’t reflect what you can’t see in me..” I like the way The Futureheads played the guitar throughour this whole, especially the one that really stands out, you know what i mean when you listen to See What You Want. It’s like plucking just a single string of a guitar. It goes, “doiiinnngg..”. It’s funny yet so good to listen to.
Rating: If i can only choose one good thing to say about This Is Not The World by The Futureheads, i would definitely say the energy. You see from start to finish, there wasn’t a chance for me to rest and close my eyes. As soon as one track is finished, the track that follows next kept me up again. If you found yourself sleepy but aren’t able to go to bed due to work or other reasons, please listen to This Is Not The World. 🙂 You’d be glad that you have made a wise decision. Compared to The Futureheads’ last album, News and Tributes. This Is Not The World showcased The Futureheads at their best, playing raw post-punk revival and writing some really catchy songs along the way. You will not find varieties in This Is Not The World, it’s a very consistent album that will please fans of The Futureheads. No doubt about that! I would be stupid if i were to say i’m not enjoying This Is Not The World. It’s truly loud and groovy and anthemic! What else more! I truly rate it 7.3 out of 10. 🙂
Stand-Out Tracks (My Picks): Radio Heart, Work Is Never Done, See What You Want, Sale of the Century and Walking Backwards.
Source by Darren Tan
