Chumbawamba Albums (14)
'The Boy Bands Have Won'
Release Date 3/3/2008
Tracks 50
Label No Masters Co-Operative
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What The Critics Say
The new acoustic Chumbawamba are now three albums into their career, and they seem to have really got the hang of it with this one. The boy bands haven't won, of course, not when there's creativity like this around. Perhaps they've now settled comfortably enough into their new identity to become more open, but this collection of songs long and short includes drumming, some programming, fuller arrangements here and there with Dixieland, and a stray brass band, a couple of samples (Martin Carthy speaking) and even some guests, in the shape of the Oysterband's Robb Johnson and Roy Bailey -- all folkies with a strong political bent. The songs here actually seem to pick up from where the older version of the band left off with Readymades, hutting notes that are political and poignant -- usually together -- "Refugee" is a perfect example, but there's also plenty of acid wit ("Add Me") and in "Word Bomber" they've made a gorgeous plea for peace that never comes close to the maudlin. They know their strengths and play to them, using harmonies and simple melodies -- witness "Words Can Save Us." Now they're firmly fixed on the folkie side of the aisle, they cock a snoot at trad folk with the delicious "Lord Bateman's Motorbike." The anger might not be as overt as it was in the mid-'90s, but it's still there, and they now seem to thoroughly understand how to mix pop -- of the acoustic folk variety, of course -- and politics in the most natural way. Perhaps surprisingly for a band that's been around for so long, but one of the most satisfying discs of their career. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
'Get on with It: Live'
Release Date 11/10/2006
Tracks 14
Label Warner
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What The Critics Say
Having fully settled into their stripped-down acoustic size, Chumbawamba document several months of touring with a live album. Interestingly, there aren't that many songs from their last disc; instead it's a skip through not only through their back catalog, but their traditions. Of much greater importance now are the harmonies they've honed over the years -- indeed, there's quite a bit of unaccompanied singing where they acquit themselves very well -- with the music more as a backdrop to the voices. The four-piece is filled out by accordion, which thickens the sound nicely. "On eBay" becomes a comment on the looting of Iraq's treasures, as well as a musing on greed (as does "Buy Nothing Day"), while the political fist shows itself constantly, whether on a reworked "Homophobia" or "Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire." About the only song that doesn't fare as well here as in the studio is "Jacob's Ladder"; the original used samples intelligently, and here they're replaced by live, less subtle playing. That said, the band has the audience in the palm of its hands, getting them to sing along and being thoroughly entertaining, with their wit and acerbity very much intact. They're still impossible to resist. At a little over 45 minutes it might seem a little short in today's age, but the length feels right. And a good time was had by all, it seems. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While it's a slimmed-down (four person) and definitely acoustic Chumbawamba releasing their disc on a U.K. folk label (No Masters) with some decidedly folkie guests like melodeon player Andy Cutting and singers Coope, Boyes & Simpson, don't think of this as a folk record. Chumbawamba's pop sensibilities and sly sense of humor remain firmly intact for Singsong and a Scrap, just in a different setting. They're as political as ever -- the vocal beauty of "Walking into Battle with the Lord" uses traditional structures to take aim at war in the name of religion, and "The Land of Do What You're Told" fires its shots across the bows of reality shows, for example. But there's an odd tenderness to "When Alexander Met Emma," the story of revolutionary Emma Goldman's great love, and "William Francis," about a friendless aristocrat and landowner. "Learning to Love" stands the old idea of the maid waiting for her man to return from war on its head, and "Bella Ciao" offers new, very relevant words to a traditional Italian song. Yet there's also a glorious cover of the Clash's "Bankrobber" here, the voices soaring on the works and strengthening the notions of poverty and idealism. The band have improved greatly as singers, as the a cappella numbers illustrate well, giving full-throated roars to the lyrics. Never known in the past for their instrumental subtlety, this incarnation of the band actually understates rather than bludgeons, and persuasion works better than force on these songs. Intelligent as ever, and with eyes not jaundiced by fame, the cottage industry Chumbawamba works well indeed. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Though its clickable stream isn't as satisfying as the manual tune of a shortwave, Internet radio is still an effective international transmitter for localized sounds and ideas. The crew of a supertanker might joyfully discover a stream for New York hip-hop powerhouse Hot 97, for example, and blast Jay-Z into the inky Indian Ocean night. Conversely, the Internet grants a profound reach to the rants of the average soapbox idealist, whose words might burst with sudden and unlikely force from tinny desktop speakers half a world away. These bitstream cultural transfers -- both the wanted and the unwanted -- are the impetus for the grumbling lovely global village of Chumbawamba's UN. Its rousing punk past put on a shelf, the veteran collective of outsider Brits has crafted a set from international bits of found sound and World Wide Web crosstalk both extreme and goofy. There's the usual vocal harmony keen, and a bed of acoustic guitars and subtle electronic programming holds the whole thing together. "Just Desserts" begins with a scratchy prayer group recording, before winding into an accordion-fueled support platform for Global Pastry Uprising. Is that Billy Bob Thornton telling the anecdote at "Everything You Know Is Wrong"'s start? Unclear, but the cut's poppy acoustic bop cloaks its recitation of some of the most significant conspiracies, controversies, and violent events of the recent era, not to mention Chumba's position that stuffed-shirt agendas were behind them all. The song's a rabble-rouser, for sure, but just one in this UN's nation-by-nation Bad Stuff survey. It joins "Be With You," which gives support to Zimbabwean cricketers protesting President Mugabe; "Buy Nothing Day"'s endorsement of Adbusters magazine's infamous anti-consumerism movement; and "I Did It for Alfie," the story of a parent's personal protest against the world he brought his child into. These themes tend to take precedence over Chumbawamba's music. It has evolved into a nice-enough amalgam of samples and folktronica, but can be a bit bland on its own terms. The music seems much more comfortable when its political and social observations are seamless with its beats and breaks. Standouts in this respect include "A Man Walks into a Bar," which is topped off with evocative Latin rhythms, but is also a clever and explosive indictment of the Cuban embargo. "Following You" is a hopeful tribute to humanizing urban space, and "Rebel Code" celebrates Linux and the Open Source Revolution. By posting missives about problems on an international scale (and using the Internet for source material), Chumbawamba has effectively moved its brand of activism into a new phase as borderless as the powers-that-be it struggles against. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Shhhlap! is more of a public service than anything new -- a two-fer of the albums Shhh and Slap! Both have their significance in the Chumbawamba canon, marking a turning away from their outright punk past and into a more individual, modern sound; bringing out the innate humor and wordplay that's been one of their trademarks ever since. Shhh is a decidedly cynical look at the music business; the album that appeared after their projected music business take, "Jesus H. Christ", was unable to happen because no one would grant licenses for the use of samples -- Shhh being a reference to being gagged. In many ways it's the same album, cunningly re-recorded to hint at what's missing without crossing the line into outright illegality, and it skewers a number of stars very well. Slap! is the unabashed political album, bookended by the tracks "Ulrike" and "Meinhof." In between are slapstick, verbal jousts, taunts, and music that had its grounding in punk, but was also in love with the new possibilities of techno and electronica. It's the most European album in the Chumba catalog, with headlines for song titles "Chase PC's Flee Attack By Own Dog," and a sense of humor bordering on the absurd at times. It's easy to dismiss Chumbawamba as sloganeers, but listen more than once to this and you'll see there's plenty of thought -- and emotion -- behind their work, and some marvelous, cheeky intelligences at work. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
'Readymades'
Release Date 6/18/2002
Tracks 13
Label Republic/Universal
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Once listeners accept that Chumbawamba got lucky and will never, ever have another "Tubthumping" in them, the better off they'll all be. And the sooner they recognize this, the sooner they can begin to enjoy the subtle charms of this anarchist combo. Because beneath the snarky, self-imposed label, Chumbawamba is a pretty smart pop band, heavy on hooks and even heavier on ideological grandstanding. Readymades basically follows the pattern laid out on their previous two albums. The pop is a little more forward, as is the political theorizing, but it's a consistent listen (more so than the Tubthumper album). Best moment: the wispy folk and anti-capitalist sentiment of "Don't Try This at Home." ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide
'What You See Is What You Get'
Release Date 4/4/2000
Tracks 22
Label Republic/Universal
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What The Critics Say
Nearly everyone that was seduced by Chumbawamba's irresistible "Tubthumping" wasn't aware that the band had not only kicked around for over decade, but that they were politically active, social satirists with a penchant for anarchy, both in their politics and music. Of course, nobody would be able to discern that from "Tubthumping," since its sendup of lads shouting "lager, lager, lager" was so accurate that it appealed to the very audience it was spoofing. Still, it was a terrific pop single, and it broke down the doors for the group in America, where Alice Nutter made headlines when she encouraged fans to shoplift their record. If America was amused by Chumbawamba and their antics, the band was even more amused, even befuddled, by the U.S. -- so much so that they decided to make What You See Is What You Get, their sequel to Tubthumping, a snapshot of their view of the land of excess. Consisting of 22 songs in under 48 minutes, WYSIWYG is as fast and furious and saturated with pop culture -- just like life at the end of the 20th century. Every song moves so fast that the album initially seems a bit like a blur, albeit a tuneful, clever blur. The very brevity of the tracks guarantees that there isn't a track here as chart-friendly as Chumbawamba's fluke hit, but there are plenty of melodies and catchy hooks -- they just happen to be pieced together like a collage with a bunch of sound samples, found sounds, snippets of television, spoken words, drum loops, and the like, with all of it folding back onto itself in the second half of the record. As social satirists, the group is a little obvious this time around -- "Hey Hey We're the Junkies" is set to the tune of "Hey Hey We're the Monkees," "Pass It Along" sends up Microsoft's slogan "Where Do You Want to Go Today," the 1999 Woodstock riots are justified by "I'm Not Sorry, I Was Having Fun," there are shout-outs to "any Branch Davidians in the house" on "Jesus in Vegas," and they name-drop Jerry Springer -- but maybe the point is that America is a little obvious and superficial. Or maybe Chumbawamba falls prey to the typical curse of Brits in America, where they sit above the fray and comment bemusedly on the antics of those silly Yanks (a criticism leveled at everyone from Blur to Sam Mendes' Oscar-winning American Beauty). Either way, it doesn't matter, since WYSIWYG delivers far more than anyone could have expected, especially anyone that considered the group one-hit wonders. It may cover too much ground and be too sprawling for tubthumpers, but it's pretty smart and tuneful and often funny. It'll inevitably sound dated, possibly just two years after its release, but it's a pretty fun snapshot of the end of the American century. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'English Rebel Songs 1381-1984'
Release Date 6/30/1998
Tracks 13
Label EMI
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What The Critics Say
When Chumbawamba recorded the first version of English Rebel Songs 1391-1914 in 1988, it was a very unusual step for a band of anarcho-punks. After all, a bunch of unaccompanied traditional folk songs was in direct contrast to the loud noise of electric music. But the album spoke very eloquently, showing the band was committed to learning -- and disseminating teaching -- from history. And the singing was far better than anyone expected. Fifteen years on, they've learned a lot more about their voices, about music, and about the world. Additionally, the use of folk samples on Readymades has increased their folk credibility (which should never have been in doubt in the first place). And the songs remain utterly relevant -- anthems of the downtrodden and oppressed through the ages, from the 14th century to today and the miners' strike of 1984. The songs actually range from real folk pieces, like "The Cutty Wren" with its potent political symbolism, to music hall ("Idris Strike Song") and the cynical marching pieces of soldiers ("Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire"). This version, with a much better sound and singing, adds two songs not on the original -- "The Bad Squire" and the epic "Coal Not Dole," long a favorite in mining communities and a very succinct, cutting song. Putting this album in the public's gaze again is doing everyone a service. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Guaranteed to disturb and delight, from the cover picture of a baby being born to the no-punches-pulled lyrics, Chumbawamba freely indulges in anarchy -- which means life without rules, but quite strict discipline. And, to make their case, they mix pop and politics, putting the iron fist (with its many pop culture references) inside the velvet glove of modern pop music. It's sly, wry, often comic, and they're not afraid of making fun of themselves. In other words, it should both scare and entertain you. It's far from their punk roots, at least musically, with lots of big choruses on songs like "Mouthful of Shit," "Love Me," and "Give the Anarchist a Cigarette," dance beats and fear of the future on "Timebomb," and a distinct nod to folk music -- an avenue they'd explored before -- with the pointed "Homophobia," which equates prejudice with AIDS. There's a fierce intelligence at work here, not only in the lyrics, where the irony often shines through a little too brilliantly, but in the music, with its judicious use of samples (such as Homer Simpson's "Doh!" or another that sounds like a speeded-up Pink Floyd keyboard lick from Dark Sound of the Moon) and programming -- although notably the machines always take second place to the human element. They're not simply chest-thumping or standing on a soapbox decrying everything -- they're aiming to hit the members of a younger generation where they live. And even if they're never going to have careers as rappers, at least on the basis of "This Year's Thing," they make their points very clearly, as in the '50s-styled "Georgina," a tale of revenge for wife abuse refracted (or possibly distorted) through the lens of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Throughout the album, there's some inspiring music that's made on a shoestring but sounds like a million dollars. The anarchist musical collective known as Chumbawamba not only talks the talks, but also walks the walks. Think and laugh -- and don't forget to dance, too. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Unabashedly political, Slap! refers to the Bader-Meinhof Gang, Bernadette Devlin and the Irish troubles, Tiananmen Square and the 1956 Hungarian uprising (which receives the studiously ironic "That's How Grateful We Are," about the destruction of a statue of Stalin). The politics are salted into an entertaining mix of beats and hooks that make the whole album easy to digest. Entertaining music designed to make the listener think -- not a bad deal. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide
