This music film reminded me a little of last year's documentary Big Gold Dream: Scottish Post-Punk and Infiltrating the Mainstream. Where that one looked at the Scottish indie labels Fast Product and Postcard Records, this one focuses on Chemikal Underground, who were a direct descendant of those earlier two. As a result it shifts its look at the Scottish alternative scene of the early 80's to the late 90's. The bands covered here are The Delgados, Bis, Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand, Arab Strap and RM Hubbert. It has a narrative framework where various members of the bands retrace their steps in a return journey to the small French town Mauron in France, a place where they had travelled to in 1997 to play a specially arranged gig.
The trip to France is obviously central to this in terms of giving the film a narrative spine to work off. I did wonder though if it might have worked better without it. The trip was an interesting side story but never really felt like anything more than this. I think if the doc had simply focused its attention on the formation and significance of Chemikal Underground records it would have worked a lot better with a more clear approach that would have allowed for maybe even more emphasis on the bands themselves. Still, this minor gripe aside, there is still a lot of good stuff here. The small roster of interesting indie acts associated with the label are quite varied and memorable, from the punk-pop of Bis to the post-rock soundscapes of Mogwai by way of the urban folk of Arab Strap. There is no doubt that the label covered quite a lot of ground and it was obviously one of the most influential British indie labels of the late 90's. There isn't really any opinions offered from anyone out-with the scene itself though so the wider significance of the bands and label are never given a wider context. Consequently, this is a very small scale and personal documentary with musings from various members of the bands. They are a fairly eloquent and amusing bunch so spending time with these people is a most enjoyable experience though.
The trip to France is obviously central to this in terms of giving the film a narrative spine to work off. I did wonder though if it might have worked better without it. The trip was an interesting side story but never really felt like anything more than this. I think if the doc had simply focused its attention on the formation and significance of Chemikal Underground records it would have worked a lot better with a more clear approach that would have allowed for maybe even more emphasis on the bands themselves. Still, this minor gripe aside, there is still a lot of good stuff here. The small roster of interesting indie acts associated with the label are quite varied and memorable, from the punk-pop of Bis to the post-rock soundscapes of Mogwai by way of the urban folk of Arab Strap. There is no doubt that the label covered quite a lot of ground and it was obviously one of the most influential British indie labels of the late 90's. There isn't really any opinions offered from anyone out-with the scene itself though so the wider significance of the bands and label are never given a wider context. Consequently, this is a very small scale and personal documentary with musings from various members of the bands. They are a fairly eloquent and amusing bunch so spending time with these people is a most enjoyable experience though.