"Humble As The Sun"

Grime-directed Bob Vylan attack England

They look bad, but despite everything they make music for love: Bob Vylan from England's working class.

(Bild: Ralf Chlapinski, Ghost Theatre, Krone KREATIV)

No, the gruff duo from the heart of England has nothing to do with Bob Dylan. On their third album "Humble As The Sun", Bob Vylan combine grime, punk and 90s alternative rock with social criticism to create a brew that gives a youth without a future a reason for revolution. Despite all their aggression, they themselves act according to the principle of love.

Anyone who tried to get to the Happel Stadium concert of the Toten Hosen early in July 2022 witnessed a very special support band that was going through the roof in their home country of England at the time. Two likeable lads with Rastamatte and an almost unbelievable energy, who thrilled a still manageable audience with political songs somewhere between punk, grime and early 90s alternative rock. A year later, the two gentlemen Bobby and Bobbie Vylan played at Nova Rock on the Red Bull Brandwagen and managed to add a little extra heat to the brutal sun beating down on the field. Torso-free, Adidas tracksuit bottoms or Arsenal kit - this is the standard stage outfit of the duo, who met in a bar in London in 2017 and curiously stopped drinking alcohol there.

Social criticism with humor
In return, Bob Vylan, as they have certainly blasphemously named themselves for some, take no prisoners musically. There was never a conscious musical direction, the influences and preferences of rapper Bobby and drummer Bobbie were simply mixed together. "We wanted to find a style that had never existed before," they say in the "Krone" interview, "something that people want to hear and that has a special character. As we both have very broad musical tastes, it was clear relatively quickly that it could and should get out of hand." Their debut album "We Live Here" attracted attention in underground circles in 2020, with the follow-up "Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life" (2022) taking the duo to a sensational 18th place in the British album charts. With the lyric "The album went to 18 but they know I'm No. 1" on their brand new album "Humble As The Sun", they once again impressively demonstrate how much humor and complexity is packed into the politically and socially critical lyrics.

Musically, their third album is a relevant step forward. The punk quotes seem even dirtier, the UK grime has become more uncompromising and the guitars roast with the kind of roughness you were used to from Alice in Chains or Rage Against The Machine in the 90s. "We're one of the few bands that can't be quickly pigeonholed into a genre, which is a big advantage. When we write a reggae song, it doesn't feel strange to our listeners because they've kind of come to expect it." While frontman Bobby in particular unleashes his inner animal on stage, the two seem calm, level-headed and thoughtful in conversation. With Bob Vylan, everything is strictly speaking a statement - including their own existence. Neither of them know their real-life names, how old they are or where they live. This is used as a statement against the constant surveillance of London, where it feels like every square centimeter is being recorded by cameras.

Don't ramble on for long
Bob Vylan see themselves as a band for the working class and poke their fingers deep into the open wounds of society. "Dream Big" is about growing up in poor conditions and accompanied by structural racism, while the brisk "Hunger Games" is a battle cry for all those who struggle with financial problems on a daily basis and lose self-worth in the process, even though this is not necessary. "Makes Me Violent" describes Bobby Vylan's negative feelings towards the current state of his native Great Britain, "He's A Man" takes a hard look at toxic masculinity with ambiguous sarcasm and cynicism and on "Right Here", the two have used a sample from Fatboy Slim as the basis for their offensive social criticism. Frontman Bobby doesn't shy away from openly standing up for Palestine and criticizes grime or post-punk colleagues like the Idles or the Sleaford Mods for not taking a clearer stance.

"We can't change it anyway if people are getting fed up with fake news or narrow-minded propaganda. They have to know for themselves what they do, what they believe in and how they want to spend their lives. It's important to us to write about things that we experience ourselves and that concern us." Bobby logically describes "Humble As The Sun" as an album that was written primarily for himself. With the immanent criticism of the system and the razor-sharp and critical analyses of rampant neoliberalism and humane injustices, Bob Vylan hit the hearts and souls of the common people anyway. "Everything that flows from this band in terms of content and music is based on love. People always think our songs are born out of anger, but it's exactly the opposite. We love society and prefer to sing about what we can do better and where we can go. It's about moving forward and not blindly following negative feelings."

Through the gates of hell with humor
The rampant energy output on stage is essential for conveying the content. "The way we communicate with our Caribbean roots on stage is very intense and may seem aggressive to some," they both laugh in unison, "we like to dance and move around. We sing and are loud. All of this is in our DNA and can be misunderstood. In principle, we like to joke around at our concerts, but sometimes we also open the gates of hell." Despite all the activist content, the music is still more important to Bob Vylan than the mere message. "You're welcome to dip your toes into activism, but we prefer to give 100 percent where we're at home - in the music. We know ourselves and know where our limits are. We are happy to participate in revolutions and change, but there are far better thinkers, idealists and teachers than us. We dedicate our whole lives to the band and always go all-in." Hopefully also at another live date in Austria. Everything is still open in that respect.