Hello Wembley: 'Up Great Britain'

Hello Wembley are desperate to be heard. They’ve been kicking up an antagonistic shitstorm in their meagre wake, gleefully hurling ferocious opinions and sarcasm to anyone who’ll listen, while mirthlessly slugging through live shows with their synthy brand of rock ‘n’ pop that sounds suspiciously like a toned-down version of the Arctic Monkeys sat next to an excited fruit machine. On this, their debut single, Hello Wembley have strung together a scathing salvo of biting comments about the state of the nation and spiced it up with a classic pop-rock structure and sound. Reminiscent of The Sex Pistols, but more closely resembling the Hollyoaks theme tune, the whole thing comes across rather poorly. The lyrics are about as original, insightful and obnoxious as a ham sandwich, and mimic the childish self gratitude found on the “Trashbat is…” song in the satirical masterwork Nathan Barley.

Of course, the whole thing is supposed to be tongue in cheek, which gives some respite to the air of argument, but doesn’t really provide any reason for the music to be bland or the points made to be so unoriginal. The experience is like hearing someone burping ill-informed opinions from the back of the bus while their mate indifferently plays loud music on their phone.

On the plus side, the songs are catchy and there are some genuinely funny comments to be heard. While nothing’s going to be set alight by fiery wit or abrasive satire, Hello Wembley are content with kicking the shins of the pop collective, and maybe that’s exactly what’s needed.

Released on 14th January 2008 by Velocity Recordings.

Written by Andy Douglas.