Back in the day, I was very keen on a band called Team Waterpolo. For a brief moment, so were plenty of record companies. Maybe their name was just as important as their brand of spiky synth indie pop. Around the time of the scrum for their attention, future Prime Minister and Old Etonian David Cameron revealed that ‘The Eton Rifles’ was one of his favourite songs. Only the most clever people reach the top, apparently.
These days, Lacross Club are continuing the tradition of nomenclature-based piss-taking. Is there a band called Jolly Hockey Sticks yet? Or Daddy’s Private Equity Fund? Or Send The Poor To Fight? No? Fine – feel free to take these names as well as the piss.
Anyway, Lacross Club are a Welsh punk trio now residing in Bristol. ‘Everyone Knew’ sounds like it was recorded in 1979, and it’s accompanied by a retro amateur video that’s all the vogue these days. The lads are filmed larking about in a pub, which is a borderline genius way of conveying the message of the song. As guitarist and vocalist Cai explains:
“It’s basically just me being terrified and confused by the concept of office jobs and money-hungry CEOs profiting…The confusion at the heart of the song is: ‘I thought everyone knew that this isn’t the way to live?’”
If only I’d heard this song 20 years before it was written: my life choices might have been very different. Two decades of crying next to a photocopier – argh, the waste! Anyway, ‘Everyone Knew’ is the antithesis to experiencing the fading of your dreams in an open plan office. “I just wish that we were able / To sit together and laugh,” Cai pleads as he and his comrades create a racket that makes The Jam seem as urgent as the government’s response to climate breakdown. Given that AI is stealing our jobs and water, we might as well sit together and laugh and listen to Lacross Club.
‘Everyone Knew’ is out now via multiple platforms here.
Lacross Club: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube
Review by Neil Laurenson
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