Glam Rock and the Importance of Being Stylish

With the rise of a host of talented, attractive and irristably fashionable young bands in London, it seems that glam is back and so is caring about how you look. Perhaps it always had been, even with the grungy, long-haired rockers of the 90s and the indie rock bands of the 2000s vehemently declaring how little they cared about fashion with their basic skinny jeans, band tees and sneakers, and by doing so, ironically demonstrating how much they cared about their image or what face or name they had printed on their chest.

Well, it's probably not so much to do with how much hey care about the identity of the brand, more about how much other people care about said band.

But this is not the case with these new these new hip, glamorous bands with their long hair and decidedly feminine style that features slinky turtlenecks, brightly patterned shirts, oversized sunglasses and male-make-up. A bored expression or an understated pout is also a necessity for this hypothetically stylish musician's wardrobe. Of course, skinny-jeans still reign supreme as the basic go-to staple of the hip, fashionable young man’s wardrobe.

The above band is Charlie Boyer and The Voyeurs, one of the main bands that inspired this article with the title track from their debut album, Clarietta - 'Be Glamorous.' There is nothing more exciting than seeing a band who write good rock songs and look bloody good while rocking out on instruments they can actually play. The song mentioned above, 'Be Glamorous', and the accompanying video clip is a precise example of this: it's about these talented guys taking ownership of their style and having fun with it as they dance around in glamorous clothes that are a little more flamboyant than their actual style. They're in on the joke.

The point is, however, that these guys make damn good music. Unfortunately, when a band also happens to have personal style this becomes more of a focus for critics as it is decidedly easier to pick on with easy labels to slap on and denounce the band, such as the catch-all-insult, 'hipster' and the most obvious label being, 'gay'.

Problems not only arise when unfashionable people do not understand the style, but also when other bands begin to latch onto this relatively unique aesthetic amongst bands without the good music. 

Fortunately, I haven't seen much of this occur in the last year, with some other bands following in the footsteps of other Glam London bands, but with their own sound, and a sound that is damn good, such as Telegram, who are fantastically signposted by a Brian Eno/Roxy Music flavour in their tunes and the melodious Welsh accent of their lead singer. These guys have a similar look to Charlie Boyer and his band, with beatnik turtlenecks and a generally posh, yet somehow rock n roll early 70s overall aesthetic. Their sound also roughly falls within the same glam-rock genre with a hint of psychedelic influences that I hope they continue to develop, as can be seen with Charlie Boyer's awesome new track 'Evil Mothers'.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This Glam thing I'm talking about isn’t about being ‘metro'. This isn’t about designer fashion, expensive haircuts and general narcissism. This is about style. This is about David Bowie, the god of glam and a massive inspiration to both this new wave of glam fashion and music.

Just look at that pout.

Not since the seventies have we seen talented musicians embracing fashion in a way that's nearly as bold as David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust days and the general public embracing them right back. But where does fashion and music intersect, exactly, and how important is the relationship between the two?

When I first saw a video of London band Toy for their song, 'Left Myself Behind,' the first thing I noticed was the clothes. 

These guys looked like nobody else I had seen in Brisbane or even internationally. They oozed an aura of pristine cool. And the music was unbelievably good and unique: a blend of krautrock beats and bass, psychedelia, moody Bloody Valentine-esque lyrics and to top it off, British-accented, smooth, velvety vocals. But what struck me first was the fashion. And that is important, even if the music is what kept me watching and listening and eventually led me to become a huge fan of Toy.

But still, the way a band brands themselves is incredibly important. Let's go back in time a few years and have a look at The Horrors:

Remember these guys? Yeah, they're still around, but with a slightly different aesthetic....

When The Horrors first appeared on the scene the uninitiated assumed they were goths or punk-rock or something in-between. People were scared of them and that was the image they presented to the world. In a documentary on the band, 'Counting In Fives', the opening features American socialite Corey Kennedy giggling as she describes the band to the documentary filmmaker.
"They scare me," she says when he asks her what she thinks of them. When probed to discuss the band even more, Kennedy continues, "I know they wear outrageous clothes and makeup. That they're outrageous people and they put on an outrageous show."

Nothing is said of the band's music.

It would be untrue to say there is not some punk and goth influences to The Horrors' music, suggested by their 'outrageous' style, but that is certainly not the overall genre of music they fall into, especially not with the band's groundbreaking album 'Primary Colours'. But that is certainly the impression the fashion gives and the 'outrageous' show The Horrors put on. And that's what it's all about isn't it: putting on a damn good show?

The Horrors have succeeded in putting on a memorable show with their unique look coupled with a robust music talent, but it has also backfired. Many have turned a critical eye to the band or even a blind eye based on how they look, describing it as 'emo' or immature or just plain scary, in Kennedy's own words. But there is nothing scary about Primary Colours, unless you are describing its amazing consistency in quality as scarily good (which it is). In any case, The Horrors reappeared soon after with a more toned down aesthetic and an even more toned down album with Skying. The result? Well, less people raved about Skying, but it was certainly not as great as an album as Primary Colours, even though it was still an incredible result. It will be interesting to see how the new aesthetic serves The Horrors in years to come as they prepare for a new album release. My feelings are that whoever still doesn't take them seriously (if those people even exist anymore) will have changed their minds.

The question is, will the fans stick around? I'm sure hoards of emo girls who have a hard-on for black eyeliner and skinny jeans will be disappointed, but nothing good will be lost. In fact, this move was probably a necessary trimming of the fat of the general masses who latched onto the 'crazy' Horrors when they were launched into massive popularity with Primary Colours and straight into the public eye.

However, it is a good demonstration of the impact of fashion and image on music and how it can be used to a band's advantage and disadvantage. Image is how you reach people: it is not just about the music as many a music lover will vehemently proclaim. Most people are visually stimulated in our modern technologically advanced world and bands that use visual stimuli to their advantage are the ones who get noticed. Bands who post videos on youtube, photos on instagram and put on an outrageous show like The Horrors, these are the new bands that break through to success. Some of them may suck balls, but the ones who stick around for longer than a few weeks, the ones who we remember: these are the ones who also have good music.

This doesn't mean everybody has to put on an eyeliner or comb their hair (well, you should probably do that). It just means that bands should pay attention to how they appear to their audience. In fact, I'm sure most bands do this, even if they would hate to admit it, but it is the ones who own it or even make fun of it like Charlie Boyer, who are successful.

I for one am excited by bands that take pride in how they look and can make it just as special and unique as their music.

This article wouldn't be complete without a look at one more band who falls into this new Glam scene, the wonderfully flamboyant Temples:

With his Marc Bolan inspired haircut and Glam style, James Bagshaw, lead singer of Temples, instantly lumps the band into this new movement, even if the sound of Temples is more psychedelic than glam rock. Although these bands are not wearing band tees as a replacement for any creativity when it comes to dressing oneself, they are still wearing their influences on their sleeves with fashion nods to David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Jim Morrison, Brian Eno and all the rest, even though not all of these guys were exactly fashion advocates. 

Even so, these guys are still doing it with more flair and creativity, but there it is definitely still apart of brand-strategy, even if the bands themselves would not recognise this and probably dressed like this before they were in bands, signifying to their friends what era of bands they listened to, as opposed to their audience, but nonetheless still presenting an image. Nevertheless, with bands like Temples, Telegram, Toy and Charlie Boyer all these genres and fashion styles are becoming increasingly blended into something that is as exciting as the clothes. The best thing to come out of this movement is not the fashion, but the resurgence of glam rock, psychedelic and krautrock all mingling to make great music and great bands.