David Brent first appeared on the 2001 reality TV show The Office as the manager of Wernham Hogg, a regional office of the paper distribution company in Slough. Throughout the series we were shown Brent’s professional and private life and bit by bit he became a national celebrity. We learn that before he worked for Wernham Hogg Brent was in the band Foregone Conclusion, who once had Texas support them. Then he just vanished from our collective consciousness. In 2013 he reappeared on YouTube with a series called “Learn Guitar with David Brent” and then performing with Doc Brown on the Comic Relief single ‘Equality Street’. From this there was enough public interest to get Foregone Conclusion back together and, more importantly, back on the road.

Now Brent has recorded his debut album, Life on the Road, which features Foregone Conclusion songs along with new compositions. Life on the Road was produced by Andy Burrows, ex-drummer from Razorlight and is a companion piece to a documentary of the same name which features Brent in his new career, as a travelling salesmen, self-financing gigs and the album. Brent recently said the songs are, “crucial to the film, and I wanted them to stand up to repeated listens. Also, I didn’t want there to be anything half-hearted about them”. But enough of the past, is Life on the Road any good, or just another cash in album from a fallen star trying to make it again?

Life on the Road opens with ‘Ooh La La’, a semi-acoustic number that bring to mind Cockney Rebel and other glam pop singles. The song recounts a journey across America in a Chevrolet where he picks up a senorita who speaks no English only to leave her in Acapulco. The chorus is as catchy as the songs it pastiches, but never reaches their dizzy heights. ‘Native American’ and ‘Lonely Cowboy’ merge into one and are basically the same song. Doc Brown makes an appearance in ‘Lonely Cowboy’ and his appearance helps break up the sombre nature of the music and subject matter. Fans of The Office will be pleased to see that ‘Free Love Freeway’ making an appearance. Lyrically it references all the previous songs; cadilacs, senoritas and crying cowboys all get a mention but again, it falls flat and feels forced, instead of the musical love in it was meant to be.

‘Please Don’t Make Fun of the Disabled’ is a hard listen. The sentiment is there, but the way it’s been executed is painful. Overall Brent is saying, “Don’t judge someone on face value” which is noble, but the jokes aren’t funny enough and the delivery is smug. ‘Equality Street’ is one of the stand out tracks on the album, but this is generally down to Doc Brown’s inclusion and lyrics. “Yo, I'm like John Lennon / Except I do imagine there's a heaven / Somewhere, everyone is welcome / All my multicultural brethren / Where, hate is outdated / Today love's the word / Even for people from Luxembourg” pretty much sums up the whole thing. Lead single ‘Lady Gypsy’ is about how Brent lost his virginity to a traveller selling lucky heather. The music is reminiscent to that of 1970s folk, if you think The Incredible String Band you are on the right track. However at times it’s hard to sport where the truth and pastiche merge into one another. The lyrical imagery is amusing at times, but fairly un-PC on the other. While this is all part of Brent’s schtick it does start to wear thin before the end.

The main problem with Life on the Road is the tone of the songs. As usual Brent’s lack of social awareness means that the envelope is pushed about as far as it can be. I’m not suggesting that he means any offence with these songs, and probably only means to point out society’s failings at dealing with fringe sections of society, but ‘Please Don't Make Fun of the Disabled’, ‘Equality Street’, ‘Ain’t No Trouble’ and ‘Lady Gypsy’ do come with a knee jerk reaction. At times they are the musical equivalent of Blackface. If you are a fan of The Office, or Tenacious D then this is definitely for you. If not it’s probably not something you’ll enjoy so, like Slough, best steer clear.
Nick Roseblade

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