Composition
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels opens with the sound of radio static, from which snippets of "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, "Holidays in the Sun" by Sex Pistols and "Rat Race" by The Specials can be heard. This is then cut off by shouts by Rowland and "Big" Jim Paterson, which are followed by "Burn It Down", a re-working of the band's earlier song "Dance Stance".
Mojo summed up the sound of the album as "an energetic mix of pop, Northern soul and punkish attitude." The band intended to create a brassy sound mixed with the aggression and intensity of punk rock. The music mainly consists of up-beat soul music ("Tell Me When My Light Turns Green", "Geno", "Seven Days Too Long") inspired by labels such as Motown and Stax, and downbeat blues-jazz tunes ("I'm Just Looking", "I Couldn't Help It If I Tried", "Keep It"). "Seven Days Too Long" is a cover of the "Northern soul classic", originally recorded by Chuck Wood. Rowland's lyrics have been described as "a mixture of punchy bravado, deep disgust and a rather heroic flaunting of his insecurities, sobbed rather than sung," and concern subjects such as ignorance towards Irish people ("Burn It Down"), an open letter to the dishonest music scene ("There, There, My Dear") and a tribute to the soul singer Geno Washington ("Geno").
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