Clock Opera: "Lesson No. 7"

Not to be confused with hitman Mr Goodkat as played by Bruce Willis in Lucky Number Slevin, “Lesson No. 7” is the new single from Guy Connelly, and is currently dominating indie blogs thanks to a maniacal remix from Tom Vek. While his Tripping reinterpretation is all sorts of fun and slaps Connelly’s face with his own chop-pop, it’s the original version that’s gone unsung, despite carrying on all the catchiest elements from Clock Opera’s first hit, airport walkway anthem “Belongings”. That tune went on to become Radio 1’s Record of the Week (twice) and “Lesson”—which follows a similar man-with-a-beard-being-orchestral formula—could do the same, if only it hadn’t lost a little hype thanks to its cooler, more ass-whooping counterpart.

Whooping ass at least vocally and groaning like a surprised Nick Cave, “Lesson (Original)” marries Connelly’s confessions to his band mates pursuing a ukelele riff. “Once I believed you,” he complains in his opera voice, accompanied by the kind of rousing guitar pop that took Franz Ferdinand out of pub function rooms and into discos everywhere. Bassist Andy West does a good Bruce Foxton impression, twanging his notes to keep up with the galloping strings in front of him, but the message of the song is still a little unclear (“One foot in the future / One foot in the past / Shitting on the present / And you’re lashed to the mast”). Damn if it doesn’t stir up the adrenaline, though; the chop-pop equivalent of being told there’s a bomb nearby, or that the TV licence people have caught up with you.