Don't Be Mean

"I saw you out walking down Westbourne Grove. You caught my eye and your arm it rose. It rose in the sky oh everso high. But it wasn't my dear to wave to me. It was simply to hail a big black taxi. Which you jumped in as fast as you possibly could. Well you know my dear I'm not made of wood. And my name may be Birch dear but I'm not a tree. And I can see you ignoring me ..." sings Gina on Don't Be Mean, the shop window for the Raincoats' undervalued '90s return. If there is one group that evokes the adventuresomeness of the whole Rough Trade London W10/W11 beat boho cool it is the Raincoats and the way they turned pop inside out. While Rough Trade's history may have been over-sentimentalised (there's a lot to hate!) the Raincoats' work still surprises, and the Gina Birch documentary is a treat in store.