Since 1993, Asian Dub Foundation have burned up the airwaves, fusing genres and engaging in ferocious political commentary. Unafraid to engage with challenging issues, the band built Comin’ Over Here around a Stewart Lee sketch skewering UKIP’s Paul Nuttall, an odious and divisive figure in the UK’s political undergrowth. If anyone deserves to be relentlessly mocked in song form, then it is that particular [ahem] gentlemen, and Stewart Lee is vicious as he parodies the knuckle-dragging rhetoric of the anti-immigration brigade. A point that needs to be made, what’s truly shocking about this release is how alone Asian Dub Foundation appear to be in challenging the status quo. Perhaps, in this era of social media, bands are afraid of alienating a portion of their fan base, but music has always been about maintaining one’s beliefs in the face of adversity, and Asian Dub Foundation continue to proudly stand up to injustice and intolerance when others seem content to keep their eyes lowered for fear of inciting conflict.
Pressed on 12” vinyl, Comin’ Over Here features four versions of the title track (which managed to hit number 1 in the UK singles chart) – three with alternate takes of the Stewart Lee sketch and the fourth billed as a singalong version. A traditional 45, Comin’ Over Here is housed in a full colour sleeve, with the lyrics handily written on the back and, in keeping with the subject matter, the record is being sold is in support of the Kent Refugee Action Network.
Given the inflammatory subject matter, it’s hardly surprising that Asian Dub Foundation have crafted a ferocious musical backdrop for Stewart’s scathing monologue. Bordering on the industrial, the two tracks on side one are very similar, with only the lyrical content offering any sort of significant shift. Based around a skittering synth line, the band have woven Lee’s fiery rhetoric into the whole, slicing and repeating lines with deft skill, creating a brutally minimalist assault on the senses that recalls the crazed mash up of Chris Morris’ My Wrongs #8245–8249 & 117. As you’ll see from the video above, there’s an energy to the performance that is as punk as fuck, and Asian Dub Foundation absolutely thrive, delivering a vital performance that combines eerie flute and fiery riffs with glorious abandon.
Side two offers a more ambient take on things, a relaxed beat underpinned by foundation-shaking levels of bass, leaving a touch more space for Lee’s increasingly abstract and furious rants. It makes for a powerful counterpoint to the first side and, as Lee ruminates on “the old times of nothing”, so he starts to sound like Syd Barrett recalling a particularly dark trip. It all serves to wrongfoot the listener perfectly, and just as you think things are winding up, the track explodes into a full-on punk finale that brings it all to a juddering head. It leaves the “singalong version” (which sees the monologue stripped back to just the refrain) to close out the single, and while it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to try their hand at Stewart’s deft delivery, it’s good to be able to experience the music in isolation.
Billed as an anti-Brexit anthem, there’s no question that Asian Dub Foundation are out for blood with this release and there’s equally no question that someone needs to be. A savage swipe at nationalism, Comin’ Over Here is a pointed riposte to all those who would bury their hands in the sand as refugees continue to be treated with a contempt that can only be described as a criminal indifference. A sweet package, in support of a great cause, this is an essential purchase. 10
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