The Battery Farm are one of those bands who I always look forward to hearing their new stuff. So here we have a whole album of goodness, a whole album of ‘where are this band going next’ excitement.

I first want to say that this is a band who take their sound to places you don’t expect. They are capable of sweet beautiful songs and hard heavy sounds that batter you in submission. And they do all of this with an obvious musical ability. The sometimes DIY sound doesn’t hide the fact that they really know what they are doing.

The opening intro ‘FLIES’ builds from a low omminess buzz to a full on scream. Sonically it’s a wake-up call. Pay attention people this is a band on a mission.

The blast that is ‘A Working Class Lad’ hits you with a power that’s awesome. It’s punk, Gutter Punk; raw, guitar heavy. Its power is in the relentless riff that pounds you. What’s going to hit you straight away is that this is a band who can play.

And then, oh boy. do the band go another direction. ‘Crude Oil Water’ skitters with an almost frightening post-punk pulse. This is a track that twists and turns, it goes off at tangents; one moment bursting into a big ballad, the next bounding into frantic punk. The indication that this is no one trick pony, the indication that this is a band who do their own thing. ‘Wooden Spoon Number’ takes the sound of ‘Crude Oil Water’ and stretches it. That relentless pulse is there but there are also strangely disconcerting noises, a burst of screamingly fast thrash. Is this post-punk? Is it mutated No Wave? Who cares, it’s wonderful.

‘In The Belly Of The Beast’ is heavy; guitars roar, vocals on the edge of chaos. And yet, weirdly, strangely, scarily, there’s something else. An edge of art-rock. So surprising was this that I wondered if the streaming service had suddenly jumped to another artist.

After ‘((flies))’ a short spoken word piece comes ‘Everything Will Be OK’ a beautiful haunting ballad. Sweetly sung vocals, whispered words. But wait for everything will not be OK, as this song builds to a warped swell. If you were questioning whether this is a band who do their own thing, this is the confirmation. The words of this are moving, they seem to come from a very personal place. In a word, amazing.

As if to remind us that this is a gutter punk band ‘Poet Boy’ blasts in with a searing punky post-punk sound. Guitars cut through you like knives stabbing. It builds to a wondrous thrash. ‘DisdainGain’ takes that gutter punk sound into the hardcore. Pounding drums, guitars set to stun, weird stuttering sections, odd changes in tempo. A track to mosh to.

‘I Am A Man’ takes us into swirling pulsing roaring punk with that post-punk edge. Moments of respite serve only to allow us to recover our breath. It is an angry primal scream. It speaks of the state of maleness in our society.

The album closes with ‘flies’, a mainly spoken word piece set to gentle guitar.

One thing I have not mentioned during the review so far is the words. The words of the band’s songs are compelling. At times they appear more like poetry set to music than lyrics. Their songs are really worth listening to properly.

The words take me to another subject. There seems to be a theme that holds this album together. It seems to talk about societal decay with flies representing those that cause that, that feed from it, it talks about the personal effects of this. Because of this – and the fact that the album has an intro, a kind of intermission and outro – this is really something that you need to listen through from start to finish for the full effect.

The Battery Farm are a band that take the wandering musical path to their destination, a path with unexpected surprises around every corner. The songs on this album compel with great words, songs come with sounds that make you exclaim ‘what are they doing now’, sounds that wonderfully contradict their own description of their sound as gutter punk. This is fucking brilliant, listen to this now, right now.

Right now it seems that every other band I’m reviewing is a post-punk band, not that I’m complaining of course. LUMER are another band who take post-punk in ‘a different from the one you expect’ direction.

The start of the track might lead you to expect what I’m going to call ‘a fairly straight classic post-punk track’. It’s all heavy pulsing bass, declaimed vocals, scratchy anxious guitar but then suddenly it blossoms into rich as you like almost pop lushness. The alternation between the two is telling a story; there’s the grind of low wage exploitation and the reality of life for many, and the English Dream.

The song was written as a social commentary from the perspective of lead singer Alex Evans. Alex says “English Dream tries to epitomise my cynical view of my country. Why are you supposed to put so much in for very little in return? There is this constant battle, it seems, to find any form of joy in the political and social climate that we are currently surrounded by. I feel that we have to crawl on our knees for our leaders whilst very little is being done in protest from our people”.

Musically the track reflects the subject so well that the effect of the hard hitting words is multiplied. The sad reality of living here now is brought into ultra high definition focus. Indeed you wouldn’t be wrong if you described this as a protest song, it’s more than commentary.

There is a certain sad beauty in the emotional weight this track has; that perfect combination of words and music, a powerful combination. This is an absolutely fantastic release. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Sheffield’s Django Jones and the Mystery Men make loud, raucous, messy and dirty as fuck music. ‘Bad For You’ comes on like The Cramps at 11, The Fall doing amped up swampy surfy psychobilly music. It is, in a phrase, absolutely bloody crazy.

I’m going to calm down a bit here (Thank all that is sacred – Ed). They describe themselves as a post-punk band drawing influences from The White Stripes, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and The Ramones. I get the raw guitars and stripped to bone music of The Bad Stripes. I get the swampy country blues of Nick Cave. But as I said there’s psychobilly and psychosurf, at least in this track. So, to come back to something I’ve said in reviews recently, this is another side, another facet of, post-punk.

This is music at its most raw and raucous. It is music to create chaos to, to get messy to. It is music that I want to hear and see live. This single captures the sound of an absolutely banging live band. The vocals are on the edge of ragged and madness, the guitars are out of control, the beat is big and meaty. It makes you want to throw yourself around the room, it makes you want to turn it up loud – I mean LOUD – and wake your street up.

This, people, is so bloody good. It’s visceral loud crazy music, that’s so out there it’s almost scary. I love this.

More than two years ago I reviewed Uncle Wally and Uncle Steve’s album ‘Saperlipopette!’. In that review I said something that bears repeating – “The name that this duo chose to play under – clearly their names are not Wally and Steve, or perhaps they are, that should remain a mystery – may indicate that what they do is some sort of novelty or comedy music. I guess I should own that comment, the name gave me the impression that what I was going to hear was some sort of novelty or comedic record. This is actually far from the truth”.

There is a mix of musician styles on this album; most of which sit in a sort of late 60s/70s/80s feel. And they are all played with an incredible amount of skill and feel. And this is why their music works.

The album opens with a jazzy song called ‘I’m Moving’. Gorgeous keys a-plenty, smooth guitar. If you wanted to pop into a niche I guess I’d say soft jazz-rock with a psychedelic pop edge – think The Doors. The song is about travelling, that urge to journey to new places. Look, I’m hooked. This is just wonderful easy listening music.

‘What Happened To Love?’ asks the question that some of us of a certain age might find ourselves asking ourselves in those sleepless nights. I’m putting my own interpretation on the song here; it seems to be about love among people, the love you have for your fellow man or woman. The feel here is jazz, smooth and kind of slippery, dreamy, and sounds kinda ageless.

We return to the theme of going away with ‘For A While’. It sounds like 80s pop with a heavy retro edge. In a slightly bizarre way it both reminds me of The Travelling Wiburys and the first Robert Plant solo album. Next up is the wistful ‘Blue Genes’ (and no that’s not a spelling mistake). It’s a story song, in a music vein that has more than a hint of 70s pop ballad.

‘Leave It There’ reminds in some ways of 10cc – it has a weird slightly white reggae feel – in a slightly Yacht Rock way – it combines sharp guitar and horns. It also has those lyrics that are, let’s describe them as ambiguous. ‘Why Won’t You’ continues that feel, but it’s harder, beatier.

That jazzy feel returns with ‘Slow’. It is again that sort of song that you only heard in the 70s. I don’t know how to put it exactly, but it sounds filthy and somewhat suggestive. However if you pay attention to the words it isn’t. ‘Yeah’ is basically Merseybeat with a modern feel, and appropriately is the story of a trip to Liverpool. It contains both words and music and Beatles tracks. It’s just a great ‘bit of fun’.

The album closes with an instrumental ‘we luv u’. It’s just lovely violin and strings sounds that are surprisingly compelling.

Uncle Wally and Uncle Steve are just a couple of fantastically musically talented people making music that seems to come from a huge source of times, types of music and styles. It’s not music made to fit into a particular niche; and that’s what makes it wonderful. Each track is a journey into the minds of Wally and Steve; and that’s what makes it so compelling.

I have to be honest with you, because it’s not one particular style of music, it’s something you need to give a chance to. Once done, you’ll find this album hugely enjoyable. The world needs musicians like Uncle Wally and Uncle Steve; may they continue to make their music.

It seems an age since I last reviewed a release from Enfers; in fact it was over a year ago, blimey that long.

If you can recall that release and the review you’ll know that Enfers do pop with big tunes with perhaps a touch of Indie. With ‘Infants’ Enfers have turned up that Indie element to the max. Yes, this is Indie-pop. It’s Indie-pop with a huge tune and a big danceable beat.

But as you may also remember that Enfers have a tendency to add a ‘certain something’. Here they add something of the 80s; there’s the big joyous pop of the best danceable pop and more than a touch of slightly rocky pop. And, my friends, the result is a completely glorious, carefully crafted pop song that leaves you grinning like hell and with feet addicted to the big beat.

Need anything more? Thought not. Add it to your festive playlists, bop like crazy around your living room. ‘Infants’ is gorgeous.

The info

The band are:

Sam Donley – Vocals, production
Jonny Martin – Guitar, backing vocals
Aaron Evans – Bass
Luke Smith – Drums

Instagram: @enfersband
Twitter: @enfersband
YouTube: @enfersband
Facebook: www.facebook.com/enfersband
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0W0zuUyEKa3HlBrxISysrT?si=6Cf_pA_KQIy3lXh0xGZwqg

They play in Leeds at Hyde Park Book Club supporting 32 Tens on the 30th November.

I’ve really been looking forward to hearing this EP, the two tracks the band have released already – ‘Patriot & Father’ and ‘Self Torn From Sign’ – are brilliant. They gave us glimpses of the theme running through the EP but with the four tracks those themes are fully resolved.

“There’s a few themes that overarch the whole EP, but the main one is an examination of the role community plays in the way we live and structure our societies. It’s something that the last couple of years have drawn my attention to and is the vein that runs throughout the EP. As with the two singles released from the collection, there’s still that strong theological component that’s in all the tracks, especially the closer ‘Portraits of Lazarus’,” says singer and bassist Leo Joslin.

Another thing that runs through the songs is a heavy use of theological and religious imagery. Playing on this, Leo’s vocals frequently adopt a ‘manic preacher’ persona.

But first a note. King Orange are another of the current post-punk bands that kind of make a nonsense of putting all these bands into a niche marked post-punk. This is not an issue that is ‘of now’; at the time of ‘the original post-punk’ there was a similar problem. For example while you may hear certain shared musical roots in the music of say Joy Division, The Cult and early Human League, those can be really hard to pin down. The New Post-Punk is even harder to exactly define because not only are the bands taking influences from the music that came after Punk but music since then.

That said let’s immerse ourselves in the music, for this is an EP that demands total commitment.

The sound in opening track ‘Patriot & Father’ is akin to mixing Joy Division, Bauhaus and early Goth. With a musical feel like this you’d expect it to be about a weighty subject. The band explain “On the surface, it’s an examination of the relationship between our history and our present; that which we value and that which we trust. It asks if we have too much faith in those that we put it in, and if complacency is damaging that which we hold collectively dear. As the song moves on, it changes from the societal perspective onto the personal, shifting from a focus on the connections between different parts of society to the individual and their links to their immediate environment,” says singer and bassist Leo Joslin.

“As with the rest of the forthcoming EP’s tracks, there’s heavy use of theological and religious imagery in ‘Patriot & Father’, from the title to the last verse. The meeting of religion and society, in both the good and the bad, is at its core. I also think it matches with the angular and direct sound quite well.”

That is a big subject to explore in a song and there are a lot of words. But the words are good. This is a song that will gradually reveal itself to you.

The great thing about the track is that it has space; all the instruments are given space to breathe, to fully attack your ears. The contrast between the angular frantic guitar and pulsing bass is there to thrill. This is a song to dance to frantically; it’s a wild, swirling thing.

‘Self Torn From Sign’ has hints of Gang of Four, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Nick Cave and Bauhaus, as well as No Wave and Kraut-rock.

Leo explains “The song is about a lack of direction; the feelings of aimlessness and stagnation. Not just in the personal sense either where one is unsure of their orientation, but also on the communal level where our collective motion has stalled. Without a path there comes a lack of purpose, this song looks at the symptoms of that and senses left when direction leaves,”

Guitars are turned up to piercing in a rattling manic torrid of metallic sound, drums pound repetitively. In stark contrast the vocals are shout spoken. But wait, for this is changing; the sign is a brief flurry of discordant guitar but then it goes beyond sound. It’s a build but a build done in distinct stages rather than gradually. It’s dark, it’s gloriously dark and bleak, and on the edge of madness.

‘White Noses, Black Sands’ takes the rattling sound of ‘Self Torn From Sign’ but takes it in a darker direction. The sound is bass heavy, it has a weight to it, a weight that threatens to suffocate you. It does a fast/slow thing that is unsettling, that unbalances you; you think you know where this is going but you’re wrong.

There is a desolation to this song that comes with the sonic weight but also the words. It continues the theme of a disintegrating society, if not a totally collapsed society. I hear, although I may be wrong, something of the grinding despair of modern life.

And now to the closing track ‘Portraits of Lazarus’. This gloriously longer track takes their sound and slows it right down. Leo explains “with ‘Portraits of Lazarus’ we wanted to push more into the gothic and doom side of post-punk that we’ve not explored before. It’s a sound that I think we’ll continue to look at, as well as the post-hardcore and noise influences that’ve snuck into what we’ve written since recording this EP.”

It sounds at times like the doom laden rawness of early Black Sabbath or possibly the slow grind of Samothrace but mixed with the sound of the Sisters of Mercy and the overwhelming bleakness of ‘The Scream’ period Siouxsie and The Banshees. And while what I’m describing might make it sound as though it’s somewhat retro, it isn’t. You can hear the band’s noise rock influences; they’re just used in another way. It takes the band into a musical place that has me waiting to hear the songs that come after this EP.

I said right at the start of this review that this EP was one to immerse yourself in; and I hope I’ve given you at least some of the reasons to do that. The themes that run through the songs are compelling and relevant. There is an overall connection musically across all four tracks; but the songs are fantastically different. What is common to the tracks is the sense of space; space that allows the individual instruments to shine whilst still giving us the combined power.

This is an incredibly impressive EP release from a band that are very much ‘doing their own thing’ with their post-punk and other musical influences. Lyrically they are using their songs to talk about society today in a compelling way that will make you want to go back to the songs time and time again. Yet at the same time these are songs to dance to, manically.

Somehow this slipped past me. This is terrible because this, the debut release from Helle on the mighty Monomyth Records (natch, they really do pick ‘em) is raging.

Now, having picked up on at least a snippet of info about the band, I was expecting punk, because they describe themselves as a punk band. And, if you’ve picked up that information, this isn’t old school punk. It’s more polished, more melodic, but still raw. I guess in my head I kinda hear them as like a primaeval rawer Hands Off Gretel. Or a more raucous Venus Grrrls. If you’re looking for a ‘if you like these, you’ll like this’ sort of pointer.

What we are talking about here is a vocal that could break windows, that crawls, that slithers, that pierces your soul as well as your eardrums. This and guitars that rage. But, and this is the killer blow, this has a tune that seduces. It’s the perfect mix of loud raw sound and sweet sweet melody.

This, people, is blissful. Do it now.

If you’ve heard the teaser singles released from this album (and if not, I have to ask why not) you’ll know that Mayshe-Mayshe’s music works on more than one level. Yes, she makes exquisite synth/electro art pop but behind the sometimes jaunty sounds there is something deeper going on in her songs.

This much will be obvious from the opening track ‘But I Do’ which, as the press release explains is a ‘stream of consciousness on the cognitive dissonance wrought by attempting ethics under consumerism’. The thing is that you might be misled by the sound of this track, which although having a touch of darkness, actually has more than a hint of the soundtrack to a Japanese Sci-Fi movie. Or you may notice a resemblance to the ads shown on the big display screen in Blade Runner. However your head reacts to this track there is a sense of the dystopian decay in today’s society.

The key to the following track ‘Dark Mountain’ is the apparent disconnect between the music and the words. The music is almost too joyful, you’ll see that it is driven to a point when it sounds edgy with a sense of sonic anxiety. But just wait until the track breaks down, then it hits you. And her vocals have this fragility which is almost painful. While the words seem to reference things being too much; to the point of drowning under it all. You are left with a sense that the song is very very personal. The combination of the music and words is brittle, is fragile; but counterintuitively the obvious honesty is a strength. So there are layers to this song. The music is deceptively simple; it has layers of sound that draw you in, and an emotional depth. The words demand close listening. And finally, if you can drag yourself away from listening more closely, you can dance to it; for it is pop. So it’s a complex thing ‘Dark Mountain’ but it’s the whole song which is important.

‘Moonflood’ musically is a beautiful piece of almost retro sounding electro-pop. It’s one of those tracks built on layers of drone, vocals and those – and please forgive me for this – those plinky-plonky mono synth sounds. Again words spill out in a stream of consciousness, that build through a skittering anxiety to something stronger.

‘Velvet’ is an ethereal track; Alice charms with a vocal that is almost nursery rhyme sweet. But listen more closely and suddenly the lyrics spring into sharp focus. These seem to speak of a kind of emotional withering, and ask ‘what will you think when your heart dries out’. And suddenly the vocals go. The track becomes instrumental, the voice, the person has disappeared. Haunting, disturbing.

The intriguing track ‘Monastery’ follows. It’s aptly named as the feel of plainsong echoes through the track. It features a vocal sound sample that reoccurs across the songs but is treated differently. The whole has an almost gothic musical atmosphere.

There are times when the theme of the album is obvious from the song titles, and ‘Colours of Anxiety’ is one of those. I know exactly what she’s describing here; I have anxiety and it does come in different colours. Another of these song titles that make the theme obvious is ‘Eczema’. I’m aware that stress can sometimes cause this, but also a whole range of consumer products can be a cause. The words sometimes point to stress as a cause. Musically this track feels more like the live Mayshe-Mayshe experience; especially as this the song that features a hairdryer.

‘How To Be Happy’ is sweet electro-pop, but the sound is too bright, on the edge of brittle. I have listened to this song many many times in an attempt to work out what it’s about but every time I hear it I get a different meaning.

Next up is the intriguingly named ‘Zachter’. In an attempt to get a handle on the song I found that this is actually a Dutch word which as far as I can see means:

Gentler or
Softer or
To yield or relent

The track mesmerises, it weaves a hypnotic spell. It’s soothing, and gently beautiful.

It is tempting to believe that the beginning of ‘Flood-drone’ is the sound of a flood siren; it certainly reminds me of that, having experienced this sound too many times when I lived in the Calder Valley. It is a piece built around drone sounds that wash over you.

The title track ‘Indigo’ is dark and moody. This is really all about atmosphere. From the start with moody synth, strangely of-kilter rhythm and almost whispered vocals to the build of layered vocals and an anxious skittering sound; this is a track to immerse yourself in, let it take you on a musical journey. It’s a word I often over-use but this track is beautiful; layers of carefully chosen dreamy sounds and vocals are put together with craft and, yes, emotion to make something that is absolutely mesmerising.

While the album explores themes of anxiety, depression and burn out; sometimes with an honesty that is almost shocking, it doesn’t always reflect that in the sounds of the tracks. Alice says that the songs are “pop-ponderings on the human condition, but with bright edges. There’s nothing like a catchy pop hook to help you process dark moments”. This explains her musical approach.

I agree with part of this but don’t agree with her description of the songs as ‘pop-ponderings’. Her music may be based on lofi bedroom electro-pop but it’s elevated above this, the tracks are carefully and artfully ‘composed’. Every sound is there to help tell a story, explain a mood, sonically describe an emotion or feeling; and yes, that includes the catchy pop hooks.

I wouldn’t dare use the phrase ‘concept album’ to describe this but as we already know there is a theme to the album; and it has sounds that turn up in many songs but modified which is quite ‘concept-y’. One of these is a particular vocal sample.

This is an album that is fantastic in so many ways; musically, lyrically and, particularly, the brutal honesty of the songs. These combine to make something that is compelling, mesmirising and beautiful.

I will end this review with a plea. I know it’s tempting to pick and choose tracks but please do try to listen to the whole album in the right order at least once; you’ll get so much more out of the songs, I promise you.

Links to stream, buy digital or physical copies of ‘Indigo’, plus socials, website and more https://linktr.ee/mayshe_mayshe

The info

Mayshe-Mayshe is the solo project of Yorkshire-based writer-producer Alice Rowan. Since releasing her debut LP ‘Cocoa Smoke’ in 2018, much in the world has changed – or at least become more apparent. Her new album follows suit by unpeeling layers of ennui, uncertainty and melancholy.

The album is written, recorded and produced by Alice. Embracing the DIY ethos that’s a clear drive behind all her creative output, she’s spent the last years honing her production and home recording skills. “Learning to self-produce my music has been such a joyful, empowering experience – it feels like having a super power, having this new ability to create sonic worlds from my sofa.”

​The result is a work with added depth: the dreamy bedroom pop of Mayshe’s debut album ‘Cocoa Smoke’ remains intact on ‘Indigo’, but the lo-fi recording style is bolstered by muscular production and rich textures. Her frequent collaborator and Living Body bandmate Jeff T. Smith performed mixing and co-production duties.

Live dates

12 November – Sheffield @ Hatch
14 November – Derby @ Dubrek Studios
15 November – Durham @ The Holy Grale
17 November – Leeds @ Oporto Bar
18 November – Manchester @ Peer Hat
19 November – Hartlepool @ The Studio
20 November – Halifax @ The Grayston Unity
26 November – Richmond @ Blues Night