London is changing, and has been for a while now. For as long as people can remember, the city’s character has been siphoned off, bit by bit, in a strange tidal flow that sees areas attract creativity, gain popularity, and then implode under the weight of sanitised gentrification. The creativity moves on, the cycle repeats. It’s happened to Camden, which has been a glorified open air shopping mall for a while now. It’s happened to Shoreditch, where anyone with an unlimited budget and a recipe for cupcakes can get their big break. It’s happening East, West, North, and South. Soon, the city will be nothing but bankers, expensive boutiques and coffee shops, and pseudo artisans who own said boutiques and coffee shops.
What does this have to do with White Ape’s “Kick It Down”? Quite a lot. White Ape represent part of the city’s culture that is slowly getting phased out. Living in London is becoming increasingly expensive and before long, bands like White Ape will be confined to the provinces once again as pubs and venues, once champions of the local live scene, are shut down, redeveloped, and replaced with luxury accommodation.
In short, that’s what this EP is about, and it’s fitting that the band have tipped their hats to ’70s British punk, with surfy guitars, two-tone beats, and lyrics with an overt message. “Kick It Down” is a fist raised in the air and a shout of defiance from kids forced to pay the previous generation’s tab.
If you have a place in your heart for honest garage rock that rallies against the status quo, then you need this—White Ape’s “Kick It Down”—in your collection.
