1996 Babylon Zoo: Spaceman

There's an article begging to be written on the bands plucked from the wilds of obscurity by virtue of a television advertising campaign only to be flung back there like a used tissue once the campaign ended. This isn't the time or place for that though so suffice it to say that Babylon Zoo underwent precisely this procedure when 'Spaceman' was used to front the latest batch of the 'iconic' commercials for Levi's jeans. I've bemoaned in the past how music can work well in that limited context when all you're given is a thirty second snippet and some striking visuals but then becomes rather less appealing well served up over the course of a full length song. 'Spaceman' neatly sidesteps this criticism by making sure that the helium voiced, industrial dance beat heard in the advert only lasts for thirty seconds or so on the song itself too before it takes off its futuristic mask to reveal a wannabe glam, too close to Suede for comfort rock guitar stomp beneath. Audacious maybe (the last time anybody tried such a volte face rug pulling trick was Slik on 'Forever And Ever' in 1976), unexpected certainly; but while it's true that three minutes of that 'quirky' spacey vocal would have turned my hair white, there's still a nagging feeling that someone is cheating and being cheated, particularly when the meat of the song is 'heard it all before' dullsville; I'm afraid this 'spaceman' resolutely fails to launch.