Context?
Attention lovers of Britpop. There’s a new rascal in town. His name is Jordan Cardy, he’s from Essex and RAT BOY is the name of his alter ego. Mixing the smooth lo-fi spirit of last decade’s JAMIE T with good-old fashioned Britpop looks and attitude of the 90s. Yes, we sense a bit BLUR and PULP spirit in his first ever music video Sign On, although Cardy himself dedicated the clip to the one and only MORRISSEY. He calls his music ‘Grime Punk Hip-Hop,’ he’s only 18 years old and ready to conquer the country.
Why Should I Watch This?
Because Cardy represents the streets of Essex in finest low budget tradition. His self-directed video debut sees the young gentleman and his band mates cruising around in a far too small car, making a lot of nonsense (where are your seat belts, kids?) while singing about having no money at all. Is the British working class pop not dead, yet? It’s a highly enjoyable piece of youthful garage pop, that much is for sure.
Anything Else?
Ironically RAT BOY recently ‘signed on’ and got himself some money as he just scored a record deal with Parlophone. So this might be the first but definitely not the last time you heard about Cardy and his alter ego. We sense an even bigger buzz in the remaining months of 2015. Well, he wouldn’t be the worst candidate for it.
—