Pulp - "More" (2025)

When I reviewed Different Class last year, I mentioned that I would like to talk about the new Pulp record if I had time. And as I have just seen them live the other weekend (an amazing show by the way!), I think it's now or never to talk about this record. Aptly titled More, this is Pulp's 8th record (5th worth caring about as the first three are strange and sporadic releases which document Jarvis Cocker's personal artistic development moreso than records with a distinct 'Pulp' identity). It is also the their first in 24 years, as the band took a hiatus in 2002 due to them feeling pretty burnt out after the success and excess of the Britpop era (go look up Jarvis Cocker's encounter with Michael Jackson at the 1996 BRITs for an example of the sort of shenanigans they got up to) and have only previously reunited for a few live shows in 2011-2013. That all changed after the band reunited for a second time in 2023 for some more big live shows; which really inspired them to get back in the studio and make a new record.

There was no guarantee how the album was going to turn out, considering how long it has been (and how often comeback albums are merely just okay - looking at you, the last two Blur records); but I think the title is very fitting, as this is just more Pulp. More of Jarvis Cocker's witty lyrics, more of the infectious disco-rock grooves, more of the singalong anthems. The band's sound hasn't stayed stagnant, however. There's a degree of maturity and perspective (even tastefulness) to More that replaces the extravagance and excess of their 90's work. Jarvis is certainly less horny (there's only one, maybe two songs that are explicitly about sex - compared to basically the entire of Different Class), being more concerned about topics like aging, companionship and nostalgia. The instrumentals and song structure are less stuffed with singalong hooks and bombastic crescendos, and are built around more patient builds with subtler pay-offs. This might be Pulp-sacrilege to say, but I think it results in their best overall album. Yes the singles of the 90's are classics in the canon of British pop music; but the albums that fall around them end up feeling a little redundant. Whereas More feels like a complete and cohesive body of work where every song compliments each other.

Not that there isn't an big, bombastic anthems on the album, as the two singles are vintage Pulp in all the best ways. The opener, Spike Island, was our first taste and is honestly as good as their 90's best: the spacey, bleepy-bloopy synths; the dance rock groove; the soaring, singalong chorus. It's been regularly stuck in my head since it was first released 18 months ago. Got to Have Love is even more disco with a 4-to-the-floor beat and dramatic string section. The song also has the purest of messages, being a simple one about how everyone needs love and as Jarvis puts it "Without love, you are just jerking off inside someone else".

The rest of the record is much slower and more mellow, being mostly quite stripped back and patient ballads that slowly unfurl rather than go in all guns blazing. The track Tina is this plucky little art rock tune that follows the tale of innocent infatuation with a stranger on the train, imagining an alternate reality where the protagonist and Tina are married, despite the pair never actually speaking. Where Jarvis of the 90's would have painted the situation in a self-deprecating or particularly horny way, the whole scenario is described in an entirely wholesome way. Grown Ups is similarly mature, with Jarvis reflecting on his own youth (including falling out of a window in 1985, which prompted him to take himself and Pulp as a band more seriously); alongside the youths of today trying to act mature and 'grown-up', and the ultimate dissatisfaction that comes the mundane 'mature' life that these youngsters are trying to replicate. The track slowly builds in tension until it reaches a dramatic crescendo.

The record really slows it down when it gets to the fourth track, aptly titled Slow Jam. The song is a sultry and sensual slow jam (who'd have thunk it!), with a simple bass line and subtle touches of strings. The next track, Farmer's Market tells the story of the protagonist encountering someone from his past (a teenage crush, or a nightclub hook-up, it's not clear) years later at a farmer's market and deliberating going up and actually finding out who this person is and re-introducing himself. It's a very quaint and cutesy piano-led tune that really brings a smile to my face. Outside of Got to Have Love, the record stays at this very low-key and reflective pace for basically the rest of its run time. Background Noise is another string laden ballad where Jarvis is reflecting on aging and how excitement in relationships fades over the years - turns into background noise as the title suggests. Partial Eclipse follows up on these themes, telling the tale of a person almost cheating on their spouse, but ultimately sees straight and decides against it. I think the imagery of comparing this moment of weakness to a partial eclipse of the sun, where the light slowly fades, but at the critical point returns again, is brilliant and really evocative.

A Sunset closes out the record with a track that sounds almost like a lullaby. It is so mellow and relaxed, and feels like the perfect way to end a record that is so comfortable in taking it slow and letting itself linger. The song is a subtle critique of capitalism and commercialism, and that fulfilment doesn't come from what you buy or how much you own, but by what you choose to do and experience. It is a somewhat sombre, but fitting, close to a record all about reflecting on the past and assessing what was and wasn't important in the end. And what was important was: taking a chance, experiencing life, experiencing love, and committing to it.

I really dug deeper into Pulp's discography before going to see them, and after getting to know all their records, I do really believe that More is their tightest, most consistent and most cohesive piece of work. It shows a band that have not been stagnant in their 20+ years off, and that have produced something worth getting back together for. 

Top Tracks: Spike Island, Tina, Grown Ups, Slow Jam, Farmer's Market, Got to Have Love, Background Noise, Partial Eclipse, Sunset

8/10

The Strokes - "Reality Awaits" (2026)

 

So much good music has been released over the past month or so, but I have been moving and without wifi so I haven't been able to talk about it. So what a better place to start than the one anticipated release that ended up being a massive disappointment! It's been six long years since the last record from the Strokes, 2020's The New Abnormal. That record was a shot in the arm for the band after over a decade of diminishing returns with each release. It drew more from Julien Casablancas' experimental tendencies that he previously had reserved for his side project, The Voidz. As a result, the record felt fresh and invigorating for the first time in a long while for The Strokes, and at this point I think it's fair to say it will go down as one of the defining indie rock records of the 2020s.

However, considering the groups inconsistency in terms of both quality and release schedule, there was no guaranty that we would: 1) get a follow-up any time soon and 2) it would live up to the bar set by The New Abnormal. Those fears were further compounded by the release of the third Voidz album in 2024, which was a ginormous step back from the first two records (which are actually better than the majority of what The Strokes released in the 2010s). The album felt more like a compilation of half-finished and half-arsed Julien Casablancas demos than an actual full-band album. I only ended up listing to it once because it was just that drab and tiresome, but from what I remember one of the biggest flaws with that record was Julien's pretty low effort vocals that were then slathered in autotune as some sort of artistic choice. That overuse of autotune turned what was a pretty forgettable album into one that was actively grating to listen to. 

And then in comes Going Shopping, the lead single to this new Strokes record, and Julien's vocals are once again slathered in unnecessary autotune. The song at the core of it isn't half bad as well, which makes it even more frustrating! The song is a tight piece of new wave pop rock and has a catchy melody and some pretty fun lyrics from Julien, taking an absurdist angle on consumerism and FOMO mentality. The song has grown on me since it's release, but the autotune is completely unneeded for the song and does kneecap its potential. The following single, Falling Out of Love, really set the mood going into the album for me and many others. The song is this meandering 6-minute slow jam that goes nowhere and does nothing, and Julien's vocal performance is so low effort and the amount of autotune applied is egregious. It's definitely the worst song on the album and is a good shout for the worst song the band has ever released.

Considering Falling Out of Love, I went into the full album expecting the worst - something along the lines of that last Voidz record. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting (but it's still not great), and the autotune is surprisingly not my major qualm with the record. It's still overused and adds very little to the tunes here, but its relatively minor compared to some of the other problems with the record. The main one is Julien's lyrics and vocals outside of the use of autotune. He's back to sounding like he doesn't give a shit again (a la Comedown Machine), barely making an effort to stay in tune. Lyrically and thematically, the record feels half baked and half formed, and outside of a vague theme of cynicism towards a technologically driven future, I can't really tell what it's about. And there's a couple of moments (that we will get to) that just seem so ill-conceived and out of touch.

Musically, most of the instrumentals are at least fine-to-decent, but the majority of the tracks lack any real direction or propulsion, and most run too long and run their ideas into the ground. They also jump around styles quite a bit and don't fit together in a cohesive way, resulting in an album that feels way longer than it actually is. I think the worst offence here is that even the best songs here feel like worse versions of ideas and riffs The Strokes have done before. The track Going to Babble On, for example, just sounds like a half formed copy of The Adults are Talking, with none of the dynamics or interplay that makes that track so fun to listen to. And Julien is doing exactly what the title suggests on top, just babbling on. It's fine and perfectly listenable, but really feels like a leftover from The New Abnormal.

The record opens up with Psycho Shit, which actually utilises the autotune quite well. The song is an eery and creepy intro track, and the autotune adds to the uneasy atmosphere. However at over 5 minutes it doesn't really go anywhere from this point beyond Julien's vocals becoming louder and more aggressive. I guess there's a bit of an arpeggiated guitar solo at the end, but that in itself ends before it really gets started. Dine N'Dash is a decent song on the record with its moody post-punk groove and a fairly clean vocal performance from Julien. However, as with much of the record, its hand is played by the half way point and the groove and melody are run into the ground for another two and a half minutes. Lonely in the Future is the best musically, with its jangly guitar and a nice key change during the chorus and a fuzzed out keyboard solo. But god Julien's lyrics are terrible. It's basically three minutes of him whinging about other artists who have supposedly 'copied' him and picking a fight with Anthony Fantano for *some* reason. It screams out of touch and chronically online. And its not like The Strokes are known from cribbing ideas and riffs from other songs are they?...

By the time the rear end of the record comes around, I've really lost interest. Liar's Remorse strips most of the instrumentation our to create quite a sparse sonic palette. But Julien's vocals are really droning and the weird combination of autotune and reverb just makes them come off way too loud for the mix and drown out the subtler instrumentation. The Fruits of Conquest is an odd funk rock tune but just meanders about for five minutes with little in the way of direction or structure. Much like Going to Babble On, it feels like a worse version of a New Abnormal song, this time being Why Are Sundays So Depressing. Tyrants of the Mellow Moon tries its best to be a moody and dramatic closer, but once again the autotune is pretty overdone and the tune at the core of it is pretty run of the mill and unspectacular. A pretty damp squib of a song to end on.

Reality Awaits is handily the worst Strokes album, its all over the place, and even its best songs would be some of the weakest on any other record in their discography. It's not as offensively bad as some fans have been making out, but it really isn't that good either. Apparently the majority of the album was recorded way back in 2022, and the fact that the band has sat on it for four years says a lot about how much belief they actually have in it. I have no idea why they didn't just scrap it and start again with a blank slate, because you can only polish a turd so much as the saying goes.

Top Tracks: Going Shopping

4/10

Ed O'Brien - "Blue Morpho" (2026)

For those who don't know, Ed O'Brien is Radiohead's lesser well known guitarist after Jonny Greenwood. Unlike Greenwood (and most other members of the band), he never really engaged in any side projects outside of the band. That all changed in 2020 when O'Brien released his first solo record, Earth, under the moniker EOB. While an enjoyable album, it felt a little tepid and unsure of itself. It had its foot in a handful of genres, but never went all in on any. The whole context around the album does point to some clues: Ed's choice to go by a moniker, the fact that it was pieced together on-and-off for the majority of the 2010s, and he even at one point considered to get Thom Yorke to do the vocals as he didn't feel comfortable being front and centre.

It's taken long enough for a follow up that I thought that maybe it was a once and done thing for Ed. Admittedly the pandemic scuppered touring plans for Earth and Radiohead finally returned from their touring hiatus in 2025, but 6 years is still a long time. It's been a long time for Ed as well, who has been quite candid in the promo for this release that in the intervening time he became quite depressed, feeling like he was both over being in Radiohead and not knowing who he should be outside of it. Similarly to the driving themes behind Earth, he took solace in being in nature and recording music by himself, at his own pace. Thankfully, Ed has come out of this dark period and has resulted in him being more confident and secure in his own artistic abilities and work. What has resulted is him ditching the EOB moniker and creating an album that is a much more confident and creatively daring (and overall better). 

Blue Morpho follows on from the folkier side of Earth, but mixes in a lot of post-rock and early Pink Floyd-esque psych rock, which results in quite a chill and formless record that effortlessly ebbs and flows between its moods and moments. Some of the tracks even veer into ambient territory. The nearly 8 minute opener, Incantations, gently eases you into the record with gentle chiming guitars and subtle effects, before slowly building over the course of its run. First comes in Ed's soothing, hypnotic vocals; then the drums and bass, and ultimately layering up the mix into something that feels both grand and understated at the same time. It progresses through a couple of stages where the song is stripped back to various different instrumental sections then built all the way back up again. It's a great opener and tone setter for the rest of the record. The 6 minute title track follows with much more ornate and pretty chamber folk instrumentation. The strummed guitar is matched with swooning strings and field recordings of chirping birds. It has a cinematic quality to it. I could see it fitting in perfectly alongside the transition to an exotic location in a Bond film, for example. 

The middle of the record pairs back the expansive song lengths somewhat, but the tracks still have a lot to offer with plenty of intricate moments. Sweet Spot starts as a gentle acoustic strummed tune, but the layers once again build up and a subtle samba rhythm emerges from the beat. Teachers is easily the most 'rockiest' and Radiohead-y of the songs here, sounding like a looser and less neurotic version of the kinetic grooves present on National Anthem, complete with spooky and disorientating effects and processed, distant vocals. However, where National Anthem descends into pure madness, Teachers pulls itself out with a triumphant guitar line and soaring vocals.

Solfeggio and Thin Places are essentially short ambient interlude tracks that give a little breathing room between Teachers and the closer, Obrigado. Solfeggio feels straight out of David Bowie's Low (I will finish the David Bowie reviews, I promise) with its subtle pulsating electronic bassline and fuzzy lead synths. Thin Places, on the other hand feels way more organic, as the main instrument in the mix is a super reverby and layered up panpipe. Obrigado then comes swinging in as the cool, confident closer; as Ed sings "Sunny days, sunny days awaiting me" against a bossa nova rhythm and jazzy keys and bluesy guitars. It's a song about coming through trouble to sunny days ahead and feels so triumphant and joyous. Much like the opening tracks, it's long and expansive (10 minutes in this case), and at the half way point it goes full prog rock and transitions into a second section that includes a super expressive guitar solo that is given full breathing room to warm up and slowly progress into an dramatic climax to close out the album.

I've been itching to talk about Blue Morpho since my first listen, but I've been too busy this summer to get round to it. And I'm actually glad about that, as it has only grown on me as I have spent more time with it. It has been the perfect soundtrack to these endless heatwaves, and has really seeped into my life. I'm sure it will be in my rotation for many summers to come, a feat the Earth sadly didn't manage. If you're a fan of Radiohead or just looking for something relaxing to stick on while you're enjoying yourself in the sun, I'd really recommend checking this out.

Top Tracks: Incantations, Blue Morpho, Teachers, Solfeggio, Obrigado

8/10

Olivia Rodrigo - "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love" (2026)

Olivia Rodrigo needs no introduction at this point, being one of the biggest pop stars of the 2020's so far. I jumped onboard the hype train with her previous record GUTS in 2023, which was an immense improvement on her already pretty decent debut. That record saw her build on the pop punk and piano pop sound with more mature and more intricate writing, alongside exploration of other genres like indie rock and new wave. I did and do still think GUTS is such a fun and cathartic pop record; and I really felt like it was the beginning of something special for Olivia. The anticipation for where she would go next would only grow for me and many others over the next few years, really bubbling over at her Glastonbury headline slot last year when she brought out The Cure's Robert Smith to duet a couple of their most lovestruck and euphoric tunes. (Olivia basically won the indie cred game there).

So it's no surprise that lead off single, drop dead, gives off massive The Cure vibes. The euphoric ecstasy of discovering new love described in the lyrics and soaring post-chorus synth line are so Just Like Heaven or High; but The Cure is not the only touchpoint that the song draws from. The rambly, talk-sung second verse evokes Wolf Alice's Don't Delete The Kisses, and Dan Nigro's glitzy 80's production recalls his work with Olivia's close friend Chappell Roan. I'll admit that the song took a little while to grow on me, as the dense, wordy chorus was not as immediately catchy as some of her previous singles; but as I sunk my teeth into it, the song is great pop song and a great opening track to set up the album and it's narrative. That narrative, as you could probably guess from the record's title, is not just the tale of falling in love and living happily ever after; but the breakdown and unravelling of the relationship as things start to fall apart. The sequencing of the album splits it into two halves: the opening 'girl so in love' and the second half titled 'you seem pretty sad'. This gives the record a really strong narrative and throughline that sets it a cut above Olivia's previous albums before a note has even been played.

What is really clever about yspsfagsil (that's an acronym and a half!) is that the cracks and eventual demise of this relationship is foreshadowed in the lovesongs of the opening half. drop dead features little hints of obsessive infatuation in the lyrics and the whole vibe of the song is so sickly sweet that it's a little uncanny. The following track, stupid song, follows a similar path. The song starts as a stripped back piano ballad, but just builds an builds the layers and intensity to a point that feels once again a little obsessive and a tad unhinged. Olivia's run-on vocal delivery and the immense dynamics of the song remind me of the best (and most melodramatic) Lorde tracks. It's only when we get to the following track, honeybee, that the album finally lets up for a little bit of a breather. The song is a slowburning, lovesick piano ballad. On a musical level it is probably the most straightup and least interestingly presented song on the album, but lyrically and vocally, Olivia's performance really commands your attention. The topic of feeling completely inseparable without your partner and couldn't even imagine how you'd cope without them around again foreshadows the future unravelling of the relationship when it is placed this early on within the album's narrative.

The melodrama eases up a little with the next two tracks, being a duo of pop-era Cure infused new wave and jangle pop tunes that on the surface, present themselves as a lot more fun and carefree than the manic intensity of the first few tracks. However peeling back the layers and reading into the lyrics further pushes the narrative and throughline of the record. maggots for brains, not only being so damn catchy (this kind of power pop / jangle pop song is like crack to me), also has really clever and detailed lyrics about feeling lost and directionless when your significant other is apart from you for whatever reason. Quite literally like having maggots for brains. u + me = <3 is the closest the album gets to pure, unadulterated romance; and probably the only track that can be taken out of the narrative and genuinely be spun as an entirely positive love song. It doesn't quite hit the pure, unbridled ecstasy of  Just Like Heaven or Friday I'm in Love, but Olivia gives it her best shot and gets pretty close in my opinion.

The last two tracks of the girl so in love half is where the lovesick narrative starts to turn and go sour (pun intended). my way is a sassy 2000's pop rock banger that reminds me of the likes of The Veronicas, The Cardigans, or even The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's a vicious and petty takedown of a partners ex, and highlights how despite how apparently in love Olivia is with this person and how she is claiming that they're a perfect match, she still feels threatened by someone from their past. The driving beat and roaring guitars give it a sense of vitality (and immaturity) that really sells the point she's at in this stage of the relationship. purple closes out the first half and really acts as the fulcrum that the narrative hinges on. The lyrics initially read as more infatuation with this person, but as the song progresses Olivia comes to the realisation that she is losing herself in her partner and they are becoming too intertwined and co-dependant. His red and her blue merging together to become purple as she puts it in the chorus. The muted, synth driven instrumental is equally mushy and undefined - and really highlights that this relationship is not exactly how Olivia has been telling herself it is on the record up to this point.

The you seem pretty sad side of the record opens up with a bang with the albums second single, the cure. Despite its name, its one of the lesser Cure sounding songs on the album. The track is more indebted to 90's alt rock, picking up queues from Foo Fighter and The Smashing Pumpkins. It is a patient and slowburning power-ballad that layers up the strings and the drama on what at the time of release was Olivia's longest song by a fair margin (and is only beaten by the closing track cigarette smoke). The song plays into the themes of feeling broken and unfixable, and that no matter how hard her partner tries, their love will never be enough. It really sets the tone for the raw and unguarded emotionality of the second half of the record.

The majority of the back end consists of subtler, more stripped back acoustic guitar and piano ballads, which historically I've felt have been the weaker moments on Olivia's past releases. However that is not the case here, as the lyricism on these tracks is stellar and leaves you feeling every gut punch with Olivia. begged tells the tale of Olivia becoming increasingly frustrated with her partners lack of attention and effort, and that the little that they are doing is poisoned by the fact that she's had to beg even for the bare minimum. less goes one step further, really going into excruciating detail about this relationships misgivings and that if loving her means letting her go, then she'd rather be loved by him less. It's such painful and somewhat bitter take on love and relationships which is often overlooked in pop music, where a breakup is magically goes from 'oh I'm so sad about losing this person' to 'well I'm better than them anyway' at the flip of a switch.

The track what's wrong with me sits in between those two songs, and is the point where all the Cure-isms come to a head with a feature from Robert Smith himself. The song itself isn't particularly Cure-y from a sonic standpoint, but the melancholic mood and general vibe of the song definitely is. The track perfectly captures the romantic apocalyptic-ism of tracks like Pictures of You and Letters to Elise. The song is so beautifully written and the two sound fantastic together. Olivia's youthful earnestness is perfectly balanced by Smith's world-weary voice, making the track transcend being a modern pop song into something more timeless.

The penultimate track expectations brings back some energy to the record, being this quirky, dance-y new-wave banger about going back out into the world after the breakup, trying to meet new people at parties etc. Olivia's snark has come back, taking potshots at the low effort guys with 'fake jobs' and living off their parents money. The crunchy synth lines and whacky backing vocals from pals Chappell Roan and Conan Grey make the track just so much fun and the perfect antidote to the sadness of the second half of the record. That optimism is short lived, however, as the closer cigarette smoke returns back to the breakup and that Olivia still has a long way to come; reflecting that these things aren't linier and some relationships will leave scars that last a long time. The track also has some lyrical call backs to previous moments on the album so really feels like it rounds the record off in a nice and cohesive (if pretty downright sad) way.

you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is a fantastically written and produced pop album. I'm enjoying it more and more with every listen. Yes it might be sonically walking well trodden ground with it's new wave and pop rock inspirations, the tight and intricate narrative of the album makes me really feel like it doesn't matter. Olivia is in a different league to her contemporaries that she's so often compared to, and after the way this record has turned out, she could do whatever she wants for her next release and probably pull it off.

Top Tracks: drop dead, stupid song, maggots for brains, u + me = <3, my way, purple, the cure, begged, what's wrong with me, less, expectations, cigarette smoke

9/10

Little Simz - "Sugar Girl" (2026)

 

I'm back from Primavera now, and unsurprisingly Little Simz' set was one of the highlights. This was the third time I've seen her live, and each gig has had completely different vibe. What made this set unique was a 15-minute break in Simz' usual live band proceedings where she brought out some decks and started DJing. During the DJ set she played a couple of tracks off this new EP that was released a few weeks before her launching her summer festival run in May with a massive headline show in London (then followed by Primavera and a slew of other festival dates).

Much like on her previous EPs, Simz is using Sugar Girl to experiment with genres she wouldn't normally explore too much on her mainline records; this time round being trap and rage. Simz has played about with trap here and there over the years, but I've never felt it to be a genre that suits her particularly well, and Sugar Girl hasn't done much to sway me. In fact I think it is her weakest project since she broke through with GREY Area in 2019. Opener That's a No No barely sounds like a Simz song at all, with a dry as anything trap beat and vocal melody. The thumping bass and heavily processed vocals are just not it for me if I'm being honest. Game On is just as repetitive and features a very un-Simz-like feature from JT that just doesn't fit with her style. The unique semba-styled rhythm of Open Arms definitely makes it the most engaging of the four tracks her (and it did pop off live as part of the DJ set). Telephone closes out the EP in a fairly limp fashion with a washed out trap beat and vocals smothered in reverb and delay. 

If Sugar Girl's sole purpose is for Simz to experiment without the pressure of expectations that comes with an LP release, then it succeeds. But as a collection of songs themselves, it is massively forgettable and underwhelming; and I will probably never put it on again.

Top Tracks: Open Arms

4/10

KNEECAP - "FENIAN" (2026)

I, like many others, was put onto KNEECAP in late 2024 following the UK's government at the time attempting to pull an arts grant the group won in response to their activism and criticism of the UK's support for Israel's genocide in Gaza. The band took the government to court and won, raising their profile (and notoriety) significantly. Their debut album, Fine Art, came out earlier that year and when I listened through after catching wind of the group, I thought had some real highlights on it that showcased the groups unique and in-your-face personality, but they had some room to grow on the instrumental side of things. The heavy 90's dance influence on the beats suited the group's attitude well, but the individual instrumentals themselves didn't really grab me in the way the vocals and politically charged lyricism did.

During 2025, their presence in public culture only grew as their continued activism for Palestine resulted in their US visas being revoked (and forcing them to cancel a tour), and Mo Chara was charged for terrorism offences after a video of him emerged holding a Hezbollah flag at a gig in 2024 (these charges were similarly dropped). So everyone has been eagerly awaiting what would entail with the bands follow-up FENIAN. Fenian is a term given originally to medieval Irish warriors that then become reappropriated to be used for Irish republicans and later a slur for Irish Catholics. So unsurprisingly, given the title and the band's recent controversies, FENIAN is an even more politically charged and pointed record than the debut. Fine Art had plenty of overt political moments, but there was just as much focus on humour, drugs and the groups party-boy lifestyle (there's literally a track called Rhino Ket that's about k-holing on some really strong ketamine on it). FENIAN does away with most of the more ridiculous moments, and the trio bring on producer Dan Carey to enhance the more serious and poignant tone.

Off the bat Dan's production style is noticeable. The beats are grimier and more sinister, with some tracks such as Carnival and Occupied 6 having a nocturnal trip-hoppy feel to them. Carnival is a scything takedown of the British authorities for the complicity in the genocide in Gaza and the targeting of Mo Chara for his on stage antics. The post chorus features catchy group chanting of "Free Mo Chara, Free free Mo Chara". The following song, Palestine is a gnarly grime track with a guest feature from Palestinian rapper Fawzi. The song is not only striking for its sinister instrumental, but also for being performed entirely in Gaelic and Arabic. I think it takes some real bollocks to put a song on the record that the vast majority of the group's English speaking audience would not understand. But it also shows how the universal struggle against oppression transcends borders and language. Lairs Tale takes on Keir Starmer specifically - calling him "Netanyahu's bitch and a genocide armer" against a storming party-rap beat.

The manic party vibes continue into the middle of the record with the title track and Big Bad Mo. FENIAN is electric with the chanted 'spell it out' hook and dance-punk groove. The song also also samples Casiokids' Fot i Hose which is most commonly known as the transition music in the comedy series Friday Night Dinner - which just amuses me. Big Bad Mo's techno beat is less of my thing, but the propulsive beat keep the track moving at a speedy pace. I do like the little instrumental breaks that feature some hazy synths and house-y, staccato piano passages. The jungle bassline of Headcase is similarly breakneck, but the catchy hook and bouncy rhythm keep me engaged.

The back end of the record once again returns to the darker, more sinister sound of the first few songs. Occupied 6, mentioned earlier, has this chugging post-industrial beat that perfectly pairs with the lyrical content about growing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles. Gael Phonics has an off-kilter, lopsided beat that really draws me in. The song sounds like it's about to stumble over itself with the wonky syncopated piano stabs and funky bassline. Cocaine Hill has washes of woozy psychedelic guitars smeared across a scratchy trip hop beat. The song feels so tense and uneasy, a perfect reflection of the lyrical content focusing on the struggle of addiction. The closer, Irish Goodbye, similarly feels like the musical equivalent of the concept of an 'Irish Goodbye'. The song is a relatively lowkey and spacious tune that sneakily winds down the album - there's no big all-out finale for FENIAN and I think that it really works to be honest.

I will say the record starts a little slowly, with the opener Éire de Geo basically being an atmospheric intro, and the grime beat on Smugglers & Scholars being fairly standard (and grime is a genre that doesn't always click for me, so the lack of flair here only compounds the fact that it doesn't draw me in that much). An Ra and Cold at the Top, on the second half of the album, are both also fine enough but I'm not really gravitating towards them compared to some of the more in your face songs that precede them.

FENIAN is an improvement on Fine Art in pretty much every way. It's lyrically more pointed and focused, and features way more interesting and varied instrumentals to boot. There's a couple of songs I could take or leave, but on the whole it's a really well rounded record. I was already excited to see KNEECAP at Primavera, and now I am even more so.

Top Tracks: Carnival, Palestine, Liars Tale, FENIAN, Occupied 6, Gael Phonics, Cocaine Hill, Irish Goodbye

7/10

TV Girl - "Who Really Cares" (2016)

 

Continuing on with the Primavera line-up, another artist I've gone back to a few times is TV Girl. The band are fairly high up on the poster and have a couple of songs with over a billion streams on Spotify, so I'm surprised that I haven't really heard anything about them before. From their Wikipedia page, they're Californian and blew up on bandcamp, and still to this day entirely independent. Not much else on them is readily available. I've listened to a couple of their records, and this is the one that has those big streaming songs - and therefore the one I've pain the most attention to.

Who Really Cares is best described as an indie pop record that draws from a lot of 90's alternative scenes, a bit of neo-psychedelia, a bit of alt dance, a bit of trip hop and electronica. What results is a very light and summery sounding album that's very easy on the ears when I've had it on in the background while working or out on a walk in the sunshine. However, when listening to it with a bit more attention in order to talk about it here, the cracks have really started to show for me.

While the genres that TV Girl are calling back to are all ones that I'm a big fan off, they don't really do all that much with these styles other than the surface level basics, making the whole aesthetic of the album feel rather derivative and half baked. I don't think this would be quite as notable if it was a crop of really well written and engaging songs, but the tunes are really just not there. The songwriting is pretty basic and very much relying on the tropes of the genres being called back to to give them some personality that wouldn't be there otherwise. I think what has really soured my opinion of the record was paying more attention to the lyrics. They basically read as a shitty guy being bitter and jealous of an ex. There's no story or interesting angle here, and the whole thing comes off pretty immature and just rubs me wrong way.

The songs I like the most on the record are the ones that lean into the looser and dancier neo-psych and alt dance genres. Opener Taking What's Not Yours is build around a jazzy horn sample and a breakbeat loop, and features some of the better lyrics on the record about the stuff left behind at an ex partners place after a breakup, with a reference to an unread copy Gravity's Rainbow to highlight the protagonists pretentiousness. (Do The) Act Like You've Never Met Me has a textbook jangly baggy/Madchester groove that I can find myself getting into (even if it is the most by the numbers version of it possible). The layered up synths, gentle breakbeat and warbly sampled background vocals sound straight out of an Ibiza chillout room.

Who Really Cares is an album of diminishing returns. On first listen when not paying to much attention, I liked the dreamy and chilled out vibe. On the second, I noticed the stylistic derivativeness. On my most recent listens while writing this, I've grown tired of the unimaginative songwriting and the boring and kind of shitty lyrical content. Maybe TV Girls stuff will hit a little more after a few pints in the sun, but on tape it really struggles to make an impression.

Top Tracks: Taking What's Not Yours

4/10