Classic Album: The Auteurs - How I Learned To Love The Bootboys

The fourth and final album by Luke Haines' Auteurs is in my eyes a completely underrated classic of the late Britpop era. Released in 1999 on Hut Records, it was a record that both bought back the poppy, glam fun side of the band that had been lost in the wake of 1996's classicly evil Albini-produced After Murder Park album, as well as paving the way musically for the electropop experimentation of Haines' later solo work.

The preceding single, The Rubettes, was the last great Auteurs single and although it gained a lot of airplay on Steve Lamacq's Evening Session, it gained very little attention elsewhere. By now the music press had moved on, and considered The Auteurs britpop also-rans despite the fact that they had never really fit that stereotype, either musically or aesthetically. Maybe in retrospect Haines' notoriously spiky attitude towards the press and indeed humanity in general didn't help, but then if all of our rock stars were gladhanding cocksuckers, rock and roll just wouldn't be as fun would it?

Somewhere along the way the album was sort of forgotten, and although its certainly no New Wave or Murder Park, it's still a lot better than the undercooked Now I'm A Cowboy and overall a brilliant listen. This time around Haines' lyrical focus is very much centred on his childhood in the seventies; glam rock, football violence and street gangs dominate, and the guitar sounds are as evocative and abrasive as the vocals they're soundtracking. The production as a whole is a really nice piece of work, and in the three songs i've put up below there are definitely some of my very favourite Auteurs songs. In particular I love the electo vibe of the albums title track, very reminiscent of Haines' earlier Baader Meinhoff project, and also the hints of domestic evil throughout the wonderful The South Will Rise Again. Hope everyone out there has a great weekend, and hope you like the songs.

The Auteurs - How I Learned To Love The Bootboys
The Auteurs - The Rubettes
The Auteurs - The South Will Rise Again