With his cheeky Essex-lad persona, lyrics about being fired from Wetherspoon’s and a vocal style more than slightly reminiscent of Jamie T and the Madchester scene, Jordan Cardy might sound like the sort of pop star dreamt up by execs looking to cash in on millennial, austerity-era ennui. Thankfully, his rebellion is all real, and this bumper debut sees the 21-year-old, whose work was recently sampled by Kendrick Lamar, show his versatility. Sure, there’s the self-explanatory Fake ID and Damon Albarn-featuring Turn Round M8 – a mellow, ska-tinged look at getting mixed up with suburban losers (“trackies and North Face, a future court case”). However, Move elevates the formula with an unapologetically Beastie Boys-esque weirdness, Get Over It fizzes with bouncy disco energy and slick production, and the title track oozes punk passion to complement Cardy’s sardonic delivery. Elsewhere, Laidback is a twinkly, Kooks-ish romantic ballad with Graham Coxon on guitar, while I’ll Be Waiting recalls Blur’s End of a Century while offering a delicate beauty of its own. Some gimmicky Grand Theft Auto-style radio interludes aside, this is a state-of-the-nation record that’s as sparkly as it is snarky.
