‘Are you ready for the storm'?’ There is much expected blood and thunder in the fourth LP by the Bristol band, but also an expanded range of sounds, feelings, painful, angry and tender moments in this viscerally brilliant new work themed around addiction. That lyric on the first track, MTT 420RR, comes at the climax of music that’s unusually quiet for the band, though it builds to a menace, describing gory images of a motorcyclist who passed frontman Joe Talbot’s car at 130mph before a fatal crash. Related to this, Car Crash describes causing an accident under the influence of drugs, The Wheel describes the destructive cycle and effects of alcoholism. There’s no doubt that all of these experiences have been lived. Other standouts include Stockholm Syndrome, about the dangers and hyprocrisy of judging others, and the extraordinary The Beachland Ballroom, a tumultuous track centring around all kinds of blood-curdling damage. Thrums, hums, screams, crashes, drones, staccato guitars, sharp vocal raps - it’s all here in a huge cauldron of post-punk sounds that express so much beyond the biting, brilliant lyrics. Out on Partisan Records.
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