ISLAND RECORDS 21st August 2026
This Manchester quartet has made a rapid ascent since forming in 2023 and gone through some changes, from an Americana-influenced start to this incarnation that feels fully formed but will undoubtedly blossom into something else. For now, this is an astonishing debut album, full of style, flavours of other things and with a mature emotional heart. Indie guitars and spiky rhythms might sound nothing special but there is a truly independent spirit that gives an honesty to lyrics and their vocal expression and when, on ‘Paperchains’, the guitar takes off, the excitement is thrilling. Elsewhere, on the second single, ‘Pin Up Boys’ has a heartfelt lyrical expression alongside the excitement of a rattling band accelerating. It’s the sort of thing that explodes live. ‘Kick Stones’ has guitar choppiness that reminds me of the Velvet Underground.
‘Well Done Kid. You Did It’ harks back to nineties bands like Pavement while hitting contemporary indie styling with the drums appearing to circle round the vocals, exemplifying the confusion of changing as a person. Weirdly, influences pop up with classic rock lyric drops in ‘Big Wheels’, quoting Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bob Dylan in an out of context name drop that confuses. ‘Dobro’ sees a snippet of post-punk deliberately awkward guitar solo to offset the straight-ahead longing of the song’s drive. It’s all left-field and unexpected, yet conveys the band’s intent
Elsewhere I hear a quietly pastoral ‘Coyote’ remind me of The Marine Girls or Daniel Johnston before it turns left and gets angry and cynical, lyrically and musically before collapsing in a mini-cacophony. ‘Patchwork’, starts similarly gentle before approaching anthemic volumes, yet remaining tentative, thanks to the pub piano sounds. ‘Take My Leaving As I Love You’ is another one with a quiet start, but it stays that way and sings us out, emblematic of the many aspects of the band.
Special mention goes to the cover-shot of a high-rise in Armley, Leeds, with a Traveller horse incongruously but typically tethered outside in the open space. It sums up the urban and the traditional fused here.
This is a band with a very large future opening up and a sky-wide range of possible directions.
Ross McGibbon