TRACKS

Image: Witness Protection Programme

WORDS: STEVE SPITHRAY

They say adversity breeds creativity so lockdown should be priming us for a musical bender of politically motivated, punk-driven celebrations. Darling Cannibal’s Whose Pint’s Whose is a sweary and well informed ball of barely contained energy and ire that will be at the front of the queue FFO The Libertines, Benefits and lo-fi boozy shenanigans.

Friends of the Monday Table had a dream where they were late for work and Emily’s Imaginary Scales is the ambient railway station announcement that delays their train, set to a gentle beat and retro electronic repetition that segues into something oddly uplifting. Decent. Leopard Rays have been busy and their EP, Time’s A Factor Kid, is four tracks of rock riffs and post-grunge melodies that should put them high on the bands-to-see list Once All This Is Over and demonstrates a band really maturing into their own sound.

Prince Bishops have been listening to Waterpistol by Shack which is no bad thing, and Why? is a lush reworking of the dreamy jangle pop aesthetic with a touch of Elbow and America about it for good measure; it’s welcome in my inbox anytime.

It’s certainly an eclectic collection this month so it’s no surprise that Philth Like bestow on us The Devilish, coarse industrial hip-hop built on layers of experimental synth and helicopter samples. Raw, unrefined and as dark as winter. ID.GONE’s On The Edge EP follows a similar musical path into a near-future dystopia though much more upbeat. The title track is a masterful slab of instrumental deep house while the rest of the EP proves they are equally happy chilling out.

Cache-Cache (feat. Elizabeth Liddle) continues a recent local trend towards expertly polished R&B. With a blissful arrangement, poppy Kylie-esque interludes and a playful vocoder segment, Break My Love doesn’t take itself too seriously; and both would sound quite at home turned up loud on a beach somewhere...

SQUARMS were the last act I saw play live in a repurposed old terraced house back in March so their The View From A Terraced House track is at least relevant to me. It’s nu-squat culture with a bag-o-cans, fat spliff, the occasional Outkast and Goldie Lookin’ Chain forays, and, frankly much better than I’ve made it sound. In fact, a welcome companion piece to Darling Cannibal with its ultra-relevant references and relatable urban dogma.

DGKyle’s II EP is a pretty decent stab at stripped-back heartlands rock but with an unusual lightness of touch. Difficult to pigeonhole but it reminds me at times of (in the best possible sense) Nickelback, Tesla’s Five Man Acoustical Jam, Zwan or even The Beta Band, especially on highlight 2.45am with its slightly odd bluesy effects and driving rhythm.

However elsewhere boredom seems to be settling in and Defender by The Agency is noughties new-wave-by-numbers. Heavy enough to be punk, dour enough to be goth. See also Witness Protection Programme’s On My List, which at least treads the darker waters previously enjoyed by The Bravery and Joy Division, while You Song by Chi (an acoustic ode to me and, um, you) is basically a musical Zoom date.