Having gathered a lively cult following on tour, the canine-themed London-based band’s LP is an eclectic, theatrical techno, industrial-pop post-punk fusion, with klezmer strains, synth- and horn-parping, panache-filled dancey debut of wit, energy, noise and sheer shouty fun. Produced by the big-hitting James Ford, the band’s voice is a northern one, the charismatic Joe Love, who announces the album with an epic, gloriously OTT grandeur on Vigilante: “I was there to watch the first wretched cells of existence tear themselves apart / As the tides came in and froze and thawed / And the cracks of the earth opened.” He has amusing left-turn deadpan lyrics such as “I said wake me up, wake me up when the shooting starts” on Running, or showing a flavour for the absurd and surreal on Clowns with a reference to the famous Stealers Wheel track Stuck In The Middle With You: “Crackheads to the left / And clowns to the right / I’m falling down the stairs / No jiggy for me tonight”. But it is Wither, Closer To God and particularly former Song of the Day King of The Slugs is where the real meat and momentum of this album is to found, with fizzing energy and a cacophony of sound. Totally bonkers, but brilliant barking entertainment. Out on Domino.
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