Indie in 2024 is best when it’s DIY, raw and sung from the heart. Leave it to the peerless Upset The Rhythm, then, to bring more of the kind of gritty indie music that I like, the raw, unvarnished and honest stuff. It’s not made to fit curated playlists or banal daytime local radio, it’s much better than that.
The Pheromoans are but one example of what UTR do so well. Wry lyrics, crashing drums, and fuzzy guitars as on ‘Downtown’ give way to
more introspective fare like the wonderfully cloudy ‘Father Austin’, which is as though Syd Barrett was alive and tripping, and had discovered the dream pop that came after him. Elsewhere, as with ‘Twibbon Wife’, there’s shades of Felt and XTC and all manner of classic Peel bands like Wire, but the influence of newer artists too like Public Service Broadcasting , when samples collide with all that postpunk energy.
Russell Walker’s signature wit is everywhere here, but all delivered with a completely straight bat. Indeed, he lists his inspiration for the album as “midlife crisis; male pattern baldness and thwarted artistic personal and artistic ambitions” . It’s this ”won’t do” attitude that feels so appealing, as quintessentially British as rain, tea and Bond films on a bank holiday. Being underwhelmed was rarely so much fun.It’s a gas.
Out via Upset The Rhythm on March 1st.
Hit The North 