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Customer Reviews of Nuisance

The sound of 1995
If there was ever a moment where the sound of "Britpop" was distilled, crystallized and preserved forever on plastic, this is it. The album sounds like Camden, London, 1995, boys in Adidas tracksuit tops, Adidas trainers (sneakers) and bootcut jeans shaking their rakishly bisexual fringes in a pub while drinking cheap beer. Thankfully it also sounds damn good. A lot of Britpop has aged badly, the joke has worn off and it really all isn't as funny (or ironic) as it once seemed. Now that the dust is settled however we can look back and hear what a great band Menswe@r really were. Horrendously overhyped (by themselves as much as others) before they'd even commited a note of music to tape these boys were everywhere in 1995-1996 and disappeared just as quickly when the Britpop bubble burst in 1997 - the press turned against them, the fans pretended they'd never liked them, and a nation of kids dressed in black and declared they'd always been into the early Verve stuff (hint - early Verve is only good if you're very very high, see also Spaceman 3, Happy Mondays, Spice Girls etc.).
"Nuisance" (a self-deprecating title if ever there was one...) is a great and varied album. It mostly bounces along on the poppy guitars and excitable lyrics that can only come from having an average age under 22. Led by the fey, lithe, androgenous and handsome Johnny Dean, the boys examined such topics as bumming around New York, bumping into your ex girlfriends and being famous in 4/4 time with big choruses, cheery harmonies and classic lyrics (""Tess", he said "I don't understand how they grow tomatoes in a can...""). However, inbetween all the pop-rock lay some ballads that displayed a more serene side to the band, and a musical and lyrical maturity that was unexpected based on their public image, and largely over-looked by a music press intent only on building artists up to knock them down. "Being Brave" and "Piece of Me" are soul-searching gems that wouldn't be out of place on a Bright Eyes or Dashboard Confessional album, and the hidden bonus track "Nuisance" adds a further depth and musical expansion by being both guitarless and in 3/4 time.
Shamelessly borrowing from the Beatles, Kinks and Stones and yet creating a sound and an image that was unmistakably their own Menswe@r ruled 1995. With poppy guitar-rock now back in fashion and called "Emo", you owe it to yourself and your musical education to check out this album. Anything else just wouldn't be cricket eh?

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nice memories... ...sadly gone
When I spent the summer of '96 in London, I had the pleasure of meeting, then eventually hanging out with the cuties of Menswear. Every time I listened to this album, it reminds me of how ridiculous and wonderful the retro mod scene was. They were huge in Japan (is that good?) and everyone would whisper in excitement when they entered "The Spread Eagle" pub. They had that perfected cocky rock-star attitude. When I returned the following summer, some members had been in mental hospitals, and others told me they were dating a girl named Charlie (meaning cocaine). Even worse, the ugly one tried to kiss me! This is the perfect album to remember London being as sweet and swinging as in the early 60's. I suppose history DOES repeat itself...

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Brit-pop at its best and most tacky
Yes there were bands that lasted longer. and yes there were bands who had acres more talent. But this album epitomised THAT summer of 1995. I just remember being at college and going down the pub, where daydreamer,or being brave was on constantly, along with all the other Brit-pop. what set this aside though was that the lyrics didn't try to be too special. It was about attitude, and a catchy pop tune behind it. Johnny Menswear just epitomised that feeling in Britain that we were the cultural centre of the universe, and didn't need that boring American post nirvana rock. Tracks like sleeping in, and being brave was quintissential British pop. it encumbered the kinks' the style, the stones' gaul, and the beatles' play on melody. Okay it does't have the range of parklife, or the singalong quality of morning glory, but it just has that quality that it is hard to put a finger on. one of those album's that sum up a time, a place, afeeling, a mood. Buy this record, and remember the days when indie music was mainstream music, and the spice girls were merely drab condiments.