Doyle And The Fourfathers

From song titles alone you can conjure images of acute responsibility from Southampton’s Doyle And The Fourfathers. Clad in tweed and Prince of Wales check, their Brit-pop librarian chic sits somewhere between Jarvis Cocker and Ray Davis, but musically, they bellow social and political declarations of distinctly Southern notions that muster up racing Brit-folk with undertones of a well-nurtured diet of punk.

Of course the notion of young middle class gentlemen with side partings stomping through acoustic-driven folk-punk will deter some of you uppity, student-protest, fire-extinguisher-throwing, part-time anarchists, but don’t cast judgments so brashly. These undertones are simply comments of social awareness. New single, ‘The Governor of Growing Up’, is a case in point. Racing eagerly through double-time drums and deeply pouted vocals, its Pulp-ish hooks undulate from subdued, articulate verses to violin-aided bridges that quickly rise towards something anthemic. ‘It must be the rebel of his childhood, lonely, misunderstood,’ spouts William Doyle like some aching, pen-bound poet of the mid nineties, and as ‘Every Woman You’ve Ever Met’ would suggest, there’s as much Cure and Bowie in there as Cocker.

The Governor of Giving Up (Single Version) by Doyle & The Fourfathers

An air of utter Britishness swarms through Doyle’s music like a tea party at a cricket match, but more than that, the Britishness confirms their adoration for a past musical heritage and that, despite some particularly witty lyrics, they are proud to be a British band. If we weren’t faced with this constant woe and dole-queue mayhem, teenage mothers and all, some of today’s wise lyrics wouldn’t have been penned. No one likes to sit on public transport and have some drooling, knuckle-dragging chump churn distorted, fizzled out-grime from his mobile phone, but it makes for an amusing song topic.

As their songs become slightly varied in more swooning currents of wavy, acoustic pop, their tender side comes to the boil. ‘What Else Are We To Do?’ confirms yet more Pulp-influenced eccentricity – boredom and loneliness in tact – while ‘Please Send My Regards’ enters into the realm of big band drums, snares skipping like soldiers marching through the villages of left-behind teenage souls.

Tom Robinson of 6Music has praised the band on numerous occasions, playing various Fourfathers' demos on his radio show, and now they’re beginning to pick up a little pace, recognition is looming in great, glorious clouds