Day One are an odd band. They’ve been at it for 10 years, but this is only their second album. They’re from Bristol, but their accents are distinctly American. They say they like Massive Attack a lot, and demonstrate this by trying to rip them off. They claim to be motivated by great lyrics, but none are evident in their songs (quite the opposite, in fact). Both their albums were produced with Beastie Boys’ favourite, Mario Caldato, though you’d never guess it in a million years. But most perplexing to me, they call their album Probably Art.
Now, the argument about what art is requires several bottles of wine and a lot more space than 250 words to even scratch the surface of, so I won’t go there. But I don’t think anyone would doubt that the very least true art requires is the conviction of its creator. If even the artist has doubts about whether their work should be considered art, then the chances are it probably isn’t. Right?
Judging by the content of this 12-track waste of plastic, that is definitely the case. Day One do hip-hop like it’s the theme tune to a kids’ TV show. They do trip-hop like it’s never smoked a spliff. They do folk like folk simply should not be done. They do lyrics that would make Noel Gallagher’s recent output look like poetry. They do melodies a Grade 1 keyboard student would find basic. They do imagination like the Westboro Baptist Church (see www.godhatesfags.com) do tolerance.
In short, this is a collection of boring songs that combine pound-shop rip-offs of high-class influences with lyrics that make your blood curdle with their sheer mind-boggling atrociousness. Probably art? They wish.