For most people, the name Malcolm McLaren has one connection: The Sex Pistols. It makes sense, as he managed to fabricate the image of what punk rock would be for at least a half-century now. It has changed slightly, but everybody holds “Never Mind the Bollocks…” in high regard, some even turning Sid Vicious into a tragic hero. Whatever the case may be, it’s the type of reckless accomplishment that makes sense from a marketing standpoint. The Sex Pistols are striking and different, and McLaren’s ability to be antagonistic the whole way worked out even if I’d argue it was a cartoon version of the genre, not really having much depth beyond blanket statements like “God Save the Queen.”
I bring this up because I recently encountered McLaren again when talking about Bow Wow Wow, which is a group that I liked until I began researching their catalog. They still have an amazing songbook, but it’s clear that the producer and co-writer was using cheap exploitation of their lead singer for attention. It felt less successful, and it set me up to be immediately tired of his antics. He knows how to provoke with music, but the further away from that you go from this, the more that you begin to accept that this is all just a front. There isn’t much underneath.
With all due respect, I just don’t like Adam and the Ants, at least in relation to “Kings of the Wild Frontier.” Maybe if I was able to listen without the McLaren context I would see them more in line with concept bands like The Buggles or X-Ray Spex who were doing something genuinely interesting. In a lot of respect, they were. They introduced Burundi drums to New Wave and they had a whole iconography with The Ants symbolizing a counterrevolution. Their fans were “ant people.” They played “ant music.” So much felt perfectly packaged and Adam Ant as a personality feels perfect for the New Wave scene. It’s just that, unlike most other groups I’ve covered, they just feel like they’re trying too hard.
To be fair, they cover all of the hallmarks of a New Wave band, most notably in a small discography that only appeared over the band’s five years of existence. Their singer would have a stable solo career that lasted much longer than theirs, and they were equally just as weird. The only thing is that where I see Bow Wow Wow and see the satire, I’m not entirely sure what Adam and the Ants are going for. McLaren’s hook isn’t nearly as obvious this time. In some ways, it’s refreshing. However, this really just sounds like a band whose sole purpose is to record songs about how they’re ants that are about to get into your hardware and ruin the wiring.
To their credit, they do have the punk spirit. They used to be called The Ants and had more of a straightforward sound. It wasn’t until McLaren got hold of him that things began to change, where they leaned into the novelty. Adam and the Ants had many line-ups over the years, including half the members of Bow Wow Wow. Still, with over a dozen members in five years, it makes sense why they never felt consistent, more designed to make esoteric New Wave songs that had premises that just weren’t interesting. Wasn’t it clever how Adam Ant sang about sex? Isn’t that so devious? Outside of the harmonies, I don’t know what’s necessarily worth investing in this group.
I understand that it’s unfair to suggest that a band commit to a high concept. Sometimes friends just want to get together and make music. The issue is that McLaren is a concept guy, and it usually is more novelty than a Corman movie. There has to be some fictive quality to it, and Adam and the Ants never feel real to me. To compare, The Buggles sing about the overwhelming impact of technology, altering our views of the future. Oingo Boingo found Danny Elfman playing overstated characters to satirize social issues. What is Adam and the Ants doing that’s exceptional? Sure, they got a good sound, but honestly, Bow Wow Wow did it so much stronger. Maybe their other albums are better, but this is just bland showmanship, more designed for Vegas residencies than world domination.
Again, nothing wrong with that. Sometimes music can just be wild and out there, which is what the band clearly is going for. They definitely stand out in ways that I’m sure were even more striking back then. It feels like a nuclear fallout from a David Bowie concert mutating into a band, a bit deformed and wildly uneven. They were eccentric in a genre that was defined by outcasts. The only difference is that I always feel like this is an act. Whereas I can imagine Mark Mothersbaugh genuinely believing de-evolution, I don’t know that Adam Ant has a greater credo other than “I’m an ant person making music for ant people.” It’s all a bit pat and boring to me.
Which makes me ask the question; what does ant music sound like? As mentioned, there was the prominent use of Burundi drums that helped the music to have a marching quality. There was a wild, jittery tone just from the drugs. The guitars ranged from a knock-off surf sound to incorporating B-Movie styles riffs. In the song “Antmusic,” they even, intentionally or not, do a breakdown that includes a guitar doing a riff from the Star Wars (1977) theme. It’s supposed to be tongue in cheek, but with too much artifice and not enough purpose, I don’t even know what this band is supposed to be achieving with this album.
Lyrically, they are less interesting. I give Adam Ant credit for being an interesting singer, managing to use these personable harmonies that really capture this intrigue and antagonism to their sound. He has a sincerity that makes the music at least listenable. Whereas I would love to see him embrace the ant music persona and do more 50s sci-fi pastiches, like the movie Them! (1954) maybe (?), they are solely driven by ego here. They are wild boys who occasionally remind you that they are ant people, and their only defining quality is that they are self-sufficient. They have so much pent-up aggression, where songs like “Jolly Roger” nods at the audience by joking about petty theft. Other times they make cracks about how they’re “sex music for ant people” and how we don’t get it but we’ll like it later. I sure hope so.
If there’s any song that makes me assume that there’s more to this sound, it’s “The Human Beings,” which ends the album with a lengthy ode to indigenous tribes. Putting away the titillation for one song, they manage to make a sound that is occasionally meditative and others expansive, making you realize how empty their pop-forward tracks are. They are loose ideas without any real heart, just reasons to get together and mosh for an hour. As charming as it is to think of a band so directly more interested in the moment, I just don’t care about a band who is pitted in a genre of outsiders as poster children for this cool exclusive club. It’s easy to imagine Adam Ant’s face on a poster with the slogan “Don’t Be Square (Be There).”
I can feel the artifice in every song, and I’m not sure if that’s McLaren’s fault or not. Maybe if I ever hear their music out of historical context I will like it more. There’s definitely an energy to their music that is exciting, but there’s always one or two components that feel disjointed. I’m never able to just appreciate the concept of a band existing as ants. It feels too forceful. While the instrumentation does a great job of creating that vibe, lyrically they rarely feel like more than people masquerading in a concept. Even if they’re a real band, this feels like shallow advertising. Buy the record like you would a Coke. It’ll make your summer afternoon pass a lot more tolerably, but you sure won’t be thinking about it in a few months.
For those “ant people” who read this and feel like I’m missing the point, I encourage you to step forward. Like most of these New Wave bands so far, I am genuinely intrigued by artists who are doing something different. Adam and the Ants definitely are doing that, but I’m never able to get lost in it the way that I have The Vapors or The Soft Boys. I’m more recognizing of their gimmickry. Is this just because McLaren rings as a completely hollow sensationalist to me, or does the band genuinely have that specific of a sound that they are an acquired taste? Again, I like them in the same way that I like Bow Wow Wow, but part of me is frustrated that they’re never more concrete under the hits, producing something that gives them depth and purpose.
“Kings of the Wild Frontier” isn’t a bad album nor are they an awful band. On some level, I recognize that every New Wave band I’ve covered that has some “concept” at their core has a level of artifice, but I think what separates them is this sense of interest and meaning in what they’re singing. X-Ray Spex feels genuine when saying “My mind is like a plastic bag” whereas Adam and the Ants just sound like they want to rile people up, making you feel like you’re part of a very cool club. I’m happy for the ant people, I really am. I’m glad you like this sound. In fact, I even like how marketable that fan club name is. The issue is that upon initial listen, I just don’t get what makes them great, worthy of being among the essential New Wave albums – at least for this one. It’s good, but this is the most uninspired I’ve come away from an album yet. Give me something more, please.
Up Next: Orange Juice – “Rip It Up" (1982)
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