Foolish Men – “My Neighbourhood” (Single Review)

Alternative British duo Foolish Men released “My Neighbourhood”, their new single. I was quite astonished when I read up on this duo, seeing that they had stopped making music some 40-something years ago, and decided to try their chops again. I’m intrigued to hear what these “Foolish Men” have to offer, so let’s get into it!

Overall, “My Neighborhood” is a bit of a cheeky song, which I appreciate. Foolish Men really did write a tune that had some British wit and sarcasm to it, almost something that could’ve been made by Monty Python. To summarize, the song is critical of the homogeneity of British society, where everything is alright in the neighbourhood as long as everyone is doing as they should, even if it means hiding some unpleasant parts of one’s life.

So while I enjoy the lyrical content of the song, the musical aspect is a whole other tale.

To start off, there is the strange sound effect that begins and ends the song, almost like guitar distortion that is played in reverse. It’s not an unpleasant sound, but I don’t seem to understand why it’s there; it just feels out of place. The meat of the song, however, consists of acoustic guitar and percussions, with production that sounds like it was made by an indie band in the 2010s. It’s not a sound I particularly enjoy, being rather generic, but I will admit that it’s catchy.

The vocals on the song are the biggest weakness, in my opinion. It’s not that it’s bad per se, but the vocal delivery is very dry and done in a way that feels lazy. This is not to mention the fact that the flow is quite awful, almost like the singer is stumbling upon his words at times and not being able to keep a proper rhythm with the music. The only part in which I believe the vocals worked was during the chorus, which isn’t that great, but it’s as catchy as the instrumental.

SCORE/Good: While I commend the duo in doing what they love, I was honestly not impressed with this song. Overall, it was catchy but didn’t give me a reason to not come back to it. It confuses me a bit, as the Foolish Men promote themselves as “old dogs” with “new tricks, new tracks, and a new spin on past influences,” with this song being the complete opposite of that statement. If you ask me, “My Neighbourhood” could’ve (and a huge one at that) been a minor hit (at most) 40 years ago.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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