LET'S start with the facts which make up Exhibit A. On July 21st last, Irish band Humanzi released their debut album in Ireland and, three days later, in Britain. Hopes were high for Tremors to do well, as Humanzi have been in the spot- light for the best part of a year, with much time and money having gone into building their profile, writesJim Carroll
Aside from footing recording budgets and personal advances, Universal Music, the company which funds the band's label, has invested considerable amounts in releasing, marketing and advertising the band and their wares. Humanzi have also played a huge number of high-profile shows in the last 12 months, from a support slot to the Pixies at Lansdowne Road in August 2005 to a headlining slot on the New Band stage at the last Oxegen festival.
On the week of the album's release, Humanzi embarked on an extensive tour of Irish record shops which took them from Dublin to Cork via Drogheda, Tullamore, Kilkenny and Galway.
On July 28th, Tremors entered the Irish charts with a bullet at No 44. The following week, August 4th, the album dropped to No 89. By August 11th, just three weeks after its release, Tremors had fallen out of the Irish Top 100, having sold just over 500 copies. The album didn't even bother the British Top 200 with its presence.
That's Exhibit A. Here's Exhibit B. On August 18th, The Immediate released their debut album, In Towers & Clouds, in Ireland. Unlike Humanzi, The Immediate did not have major label backing or the access to huge marketing budgets. They also didn't have the clout to get those high-profile supports and festival slots. All they had in their arsenal was an album which contained 11 songs, a lot of gigging experience earned in small rooms, and positive notices from a number of Irish critics.
On August 25th, In Towers & Clouds debuted in the Irish album charts at No 33. Three weeks later, it's still in the Top 75 (at No 67) and has sold more than 1,000 copies. It will be released in Britain next Monday.
You can look at this tale of two debut Irish albums in many ways, but you can't escape the fact that the Humanzi album is the most expensive and embarrassing flop of 2006. The blather about the band over the last year just could not persuade a large swathe of the Irish and British public to purchase this latest take on the emperor's new leather trousers.
Of course, the band and their handlers had worked very hard to prevent this happening. Humanzi's debut album disaster occurred hand in hand with a nonstop barrage of e-cards, adverts and completely unwarranted and questionable live supports and festival slots.
The reason for the band's failure to connect with the public becomes clear when the needle hits the record. Humanzi turn out to be the bastard sons of the Golden Horde, hawking empty, ludicrous and exasperatingly banal Transition Year polemic about diet pills and magazines. Tremors contains absolutely nothing more than a lot of hot air and a very bad smell.
But don't take Humanzi's failure to mean that the Irish record-buying public isn't interested in new Irish rock acts. Look at The Immediate. Here's proof that you don't necessarily need large amounts of cash to have a hit as long as you have cracking songs and an album which gets bigger, better, bolder and brighter with every listen. One of the best Irish debut albums of the last 20 years, In Towers & Clouds is the work of a band who are inventive, ambitious, smart and sharp - and who will hopefully be around for a long time to come.
Hunanzi? They'll probably get a chance to do a second album. Next time they should consider putting more time and attention into the music and less into poses, attitudes and chips on shoulders. After all, as The Immediate know, it's the music not the machinations which hook the listener every time.
