Neosuptervital statistics
Neosupervital’s 80s-tastic eponymous debut album has been released to tremendous acclaim. Just don’t call him a novelty act.
John Walshe, 09 Oct 2006
“I never set out to make an ‘80s album,” insists Neosupervital, aka BellX1 drummer Tim O’Donovan. “It’s the decade I grew up in so to me, the way it sounds is the most normal thing in the world. All those sounds are completely natural to me, just like guitar, bass and drums might be to someone else. The first record I ever bought was Jean Michel Jarre’s Greatest Hits when I was seven, so obviously something about synthesisers crept out and said hello to me.”
Say hello the synths certainly did, and more than 20 years later, they haven’t waved goodbye. Neosupervital sounds to this listener almost like an homage to that decade, such is its love of the keyboard and drum machine, allied to tongue-in-cheek social commentary.
“I think The Kinks are the masters of those wry social suburban inanities,” he opines, “but it was Ben Folds who did it for me, with the album Whatever And Ever Amen. It was so groovy, funky and harmony-laden, yet the lyrics were hilarious and made complete sense. That opened my eyes. Before that, lyrics for me were an afterthought: you could be reading the phone book as long as the beat and the melody were good.”
He’s certainly managed to capture a great deal of humour in his songs, from the elitist snobbery of ‘Jazz Fascist’ to the bored rebellion of ‘Alternative Day’, while his almost legendary live shows can turn into an all-inclusive laugh-a-thon.
“Some people don’t know how to take the humour thing,” Tim grins. “I’d never want to be a stand-up comedian but I really enjoy having a bit of a laugh. Sometimes your sense of humour doesn’t click with people, be it on stage or in a pub, but when it does, it creates a lovely atmosphere. But I wouldn’t do the humour if I didn’t think I had the songs to back it up. I’m a fan of the three-and-a-half minute pop song and I think if people can sing along with the chorus, you’re half-way there.”
The aforementioned ‘Jazz Fascist’ is a prime example.
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