run, WALK! - ☤

You want reference points? Well, think of Future of the Left’s ferociously brutal lyrics. Then imagine a nice indie rock band like Foals or The Maccabees, with their lovely melodic and logical song structures; then set them on fire, to give them some urgency, a purpose and a timeframe to work on a bloody album, and we’re just about getting to the right level of ferociousness. The bass is riddled with effects to often give it the sound of a guitar, but it retains its brutality throughout, twinning with the blunt vocals and shattering drums.

Things start off deceptively enough, with tricked-out basslines in an anthemic slow building intro before the band’s true colours come to the fore. Highlights include ‘I Don’t Know What The Real World Is Like’, creeping into action like an 8-bit computer game until it erupts into all-out sonic warfare. “I have misunderstood my demons”, growls Matt Pickering-Copley as they are laid bare for all to hear in the catchy-as-hell verse riffs. ‘Warm Skin’ is an ode to growing up as the drums permeate the restless core to give the chaos structure and sharp focus.

These two squeeze out a post-rock noise more piercing than the likes of Mogwai, and it’s no coincidence Rolo Tomassi producer Jason Sanderson had his hands on production duties as the parallels are clear to see. run, WALK! have succeeded in creating an unholy beast of an album that will surely see them be sorely missed.