main image Desh Kapur
WORDS JANET HARDING
DEADLETTER
” HYSTERICAL STRENGTH “
(September 13th via SO Recordings)
Set for release on Friday 13th September of this year (2024) is the debut album from explosive art punk outfit, Deadletter. It’s felt a long time coming, but with the band really honing in on their sound and working hard to create the identity they set out to accomplish, it’s been worth the wait.
Produced by Jim Abbise (Arctic Monkeys, Adele) it’s a hard hitting musical masterpiece which more than delivers. The Yorkshire born punk poets who started in 2020 thoroughly fulfill their self set brief. Original members Zach Lawrence, Alfie Husband and George Ullyott promise- “Exploratory art-punk that brews malevolent atmospheres, joining elastic bass lines with knotty saxophones and poky guitar patterns to bring songs that navigate painful landscapes of bereavement (Mere Mortal), the lengths we’ll go to protect our loved ones (Mother), and the bliss of escape (Relieved).”
Their work sees them revel in their ability to stare into the darkness and come out with something positive. Looking at things in a different way can completely change their appearance. From listening to the album, this mindset is certainly very apparent. With an overall feel of excitement, but an eeriness in its undertone, this message is clear, in a wonderful juxtaposition of distress, gloom and loss versus celebrating the smaller things in life which have a huge impact; of lifting spirits when down; of always finding that positive in every negative.
Recently released single from the album ‘Relieved’ is a shining example of the celebration of small things. “Ever been collared by the most bizarre person in the smoking area and wondered how to escape? Too polite to simply turn your back on said oddball? ‘Relieved’ is about this very British problem of over minding one’s manners and the inability to relieve oneself from an encounter that oozes discomfort” – Zach Lawrence.
Clear, sharp and concise lyrics (throughout this album in fact) perfectly describe these uncomfortable situations in a dry and characterful narrative. Observational and witty and very relatable, it encapsulates the “please God someone come and get me away from here” moments we all know only too well.
This is a snappy and fast paced album (for the main part), filled with a steady yet winding path of beats, a journey which alternates from a two tone feel to skippy ska and ultimately punk. Eerie and ghostly feels are created amongst gloomy landscapes, and then catchy choruses filled with punk style chants or outcries. This is an album that musically entices its listener, draws us into its swirling fog of sounds and scapes, then lifts us with elasticity and a chipper bounce. An electro feel is present within, a real retro 80s vibe, eclectic and intricate layering throughout.
Overall as an album it’s exciting, with that eeriness at its core but with this overriding theme of optimism, of seeing light at the end of tunnels, of standing back to take a fresh look and seeing that within a seemingly hopeless situation there is something to be grateful for, to be positive about, even if it’s just that immense relief that arises once it’s over.
9/10
TRACK LISTING
1. Credit To Treason
2. More Heat!
3. Mother
4. Bygones
5. A Haunting
6. It Flies
7. Hysterical Strength
8. Relieved
9. Deus Ex Machina
10. Practise Whilst You Preach
11. Mere Mortal
12. Auntie Christ
DEADLETTER – UK Instore Tour
Tickets available here
13 Sept – Resident, Brighton, UK
15 Sept – Rough Trade, Liverpool, UK
18 Sept – Rough Trade, Bristol, UK
21 Sept – Rough Trade East, London, UK
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Music is my lifeblood and writing about this creative force is my passion.Im never happier than at a live gig,festival or listening to music,pen and notebook in hand.
