5th December 2024
Christopher Nosnibor
Growing up in the 80s, when Wide Awake Club, and subsequently Wacaday was a huge thing, ‘Mallett’s Mallet’ engrained word association as a lifelong mental exercise. And of course, the rules “you mustn’t pause, hesitate, repeat a word, or say a word I don’t like… The one with the most bruises loses!” are indelibly etched in my mind.
Lemon Power reminded me of this, inadvertently, and certainly not by their own design, by triggering my brain to recall The Mighty Lemon Drops, Lemon Jelly, The Lemonheads, and Cat Power, for no reason other than spontaneous word association. I guess alternative music is packed out with lemons. The London-based duo, fronted by vocalist and guitarist Sere, with Ale on bass, bear precisely nil resemblance on any level, but I felt a compulsion to share my workings, so to speak.
‘I’m An Animal’ is pitched as ‘a stirring, introspective anthem exploring themes of escape and self-discovery, so the fact my mind escapes and ventured on a circuitous voyage of self-discovery before I even hit ‘play’ feel like reasonable preparation.
Although ostensibly the same song, ‘I’m An Animal’ is significantly different from ‘Animal’, which featured on their 2022 EP release A Ghastly Meaningless Aggregate. Over a minute shorter, it’s faster, more stripped back and at the same time, punkier, with more edge and more guts and drive.
It’s fascinating to observe just how a change of treatment can alter a song, and it’s evolved from a slow-burner with a nagging groove and ‘big’ chorus to a proper eye-opening slap. It shows that a good song is a good song however you spin it, but it does feel like they’ve really nailed it with this version, with its bold energy and sense of self-liberation. It’s time to let the animal inside loose.
AA
Aural Aggravation 