Finally! Something from the current British 'indie' scene to get excited about! "You can’t fool me Dennis" is an interesting proposition. Incorporating sounds from a cross section of youth orientated music scenes: house, funk and indie. This single seems deliberately hedonistic. Yet the line "you can do anything you want to as long as it makes scene", something you’d expect to hear from someone who had enjoyed rather too much hedonism (i.e. hard drugs) for a far too longer period, surely cannot be a serious disclaimer. This single seems to ironically jibe the overly care free. But why? Where are they coming from? Perhaps the clue is in the title: "You can’t fool me Dennis" appears to be a warning to those who justify the unjustifiable, who don’t take responsibility for their actions. Is Harrison: the vocalist (or whoever writes the lyrics) making himself out to be some sort of all knowing elder figure? Unlikely. Are they expressing a humanistic approach to psychology believing ones self perception must be congruent to others perception of them? Possible, but this is perhaps clutching at straws. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I believe this single to be possibly the first piece of Christian rock I've ever enjoyed! If not Christian: it is fantastically god feelingly agnostic. My theory seems to be backed up by some of their promotional materials. The: “In the wake of Dennis” tour poster, bares a crucifix along side a cot (perhaps symbolising birth), and a fully grown man, staring at the crucifix with a big question mark in the sky.
I am not a Christian, nor will this single make me in any way change my ways. But their view is put across so eloquently that I enjoyed listening to it.
Have I completely gone off on the wrong tangent and inadvertently fabricated my own subtext? Perhaps... it has happened before, it could happen again. But that’s besides the point "You can’t fool me Dennis" is thought provoking and musically very exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it and I will seek out more from this band. Though, they seem to have ‘indied up’ a little: the new order Esq. dance beets, the trebly twangy clean guitar tone and the 80s style synthesizer. I think their creative independence and integrity is maintained. A truly mouth-watering prospect!
