Thomas has collaborated with Sheffield alt hip-hop rising star and spoken word poet Otis Mensah on this track. After having met and played together at a number of open mic shows, they wanted to explore the natural intersection of folk music, blues and hip-hop/spoken word.

Although I understand the shared roots of folk-blues and hip-hop, my first thought was ‘Is this going to work?’. Well, it took me a couple of listens but I can say it definitely does work.

Lyrically Thomas told me that ‘The track explores themes of duality and ego, the sense that change whilst necessary isn’t always good’. I do get what he’s getting at here. But perhaps I got something from the words that might be summed up by saying that while things might change, sometimes, just sometimes, your heart (and I mean that in a ‘your soul’ sort of way) just can’t handle what’s happening. It cries out but its voice just isn’t big enough to stop what’s coming at you. I think we’ve all been there at some stage.

You might get something entirely different, but that’s the skill of a songwriter, to make the words applicable to all of us in different ways.

Musically the track sees Thomas in a folk-blues vein. Tempted as I am to describe this as Americana I won’t. It’s that sort of folk influenced blues that’s reminding me of that 70s singer songwriter material from the West Coast. There’s a sparse loose riff that builds into a fierce guitar break, and then a rather lovely growling organ underpinning the guitar riff.

And then Otis comes in with a rush. He’s slinging words out quick time. The idea, the concepts come thick and fast. It’s like that rushing thought process that goes on in your head. And it works, it works brilliantly.

Not only do I love the song but I love the blending of the two styles. It’s something I didn’t see working at all, but it does. Musically it’s great. And the words are thought provoking and heartfelt.

The track will release on November 3rd through Alya Records

I first came across Manchester’s Shaking Chains when I heard their last single ‘Midnight Oil’. ‘Into Dust’ is their second. Where ‘Midnight Oil’ was all sort of mutant rockabilly with hints of Nick Cave, ‘Into Dust’ almost sounds like one of these epic New Romantic ballads albeit with a rockabilly twist.

What I like about this track, and actually these previous single, is the sparseness, it’s an object lesson in less is more. Jack Mahoney’s voice booms, the guitars crackles, the drums pound.

Quite what this track is about I have no idea, I really don’t care, I’ve just revelling in the performance. For what it’s worth Jack says the track is about

“Human history is littered with occasional bouts of enlightenment.

Brief pauses in the slaughterhouse production line.

Fag breaks in the fabric of time.

Optimists believe the pendulum will swing back from the abyss any century now, although, lesser mortals could be forgiven, for thinking that we won’t make it past the next turn of the wheel…

Twisted desire to return to an imagined past?
Check.

Misplaced sense of self-importance?
Check.

Inclination to blame scapegoats instead of facing reality?
Check.

And so it continues. An endless stream of stupefied heads, trickling down the steps of Ponzi scheme pyramids – clogging up the hourglass.

Still, during moments of reprieve, it is important to remember – that when Rome burned and the lynch mob brayed – Nero picked up his fiddle and played.”

Does that really help, I’m no more enlightened to be honest, even after listening to the track quite a lot. But sometimes you don’t need to know what a song is about to enjoy it, the performance is enough. This is a performance that is more than enough to hold your interest.

The track is available now from all digital platforms.

The info

Manchester Band Shaking Chains borrow their name from ‘The Masque of Anarchy’, a poem written when Shelley was in exile, to portray his disgust with the Peterloo Massacre and the encroaching parochialism of the England in which he fled (‘Shake your chains to earth like dew, which in sleep had fallen on you. Ye are many – they are few’). More Chartists than chart hits, they are a four piece produced in The North long after production halted, currently treading water under the dark streets of London (having played music together, in one form or another, since they were at school).

Shaking Chains are Jack Mahoney (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Nathan Mcilroy (Bass/Vocals), Alex Solo (Guitar/Vocals) & Jack Hardiker (Drums/Vocals). The single was produced and mixed by Oli Barton-Wood and recorded at The Gizzard Analogue Recording Studios in Bow, East London.

The band play The White Hotel Salford on 29th September and Night & Day Cafe’s Birthday Pary Part One on 24th November

This review is one of our ‘There’s A World Out There’ features in which we will choose things to review – albums, singles, gigs – that we like and feel are worth a listen – but are not made or played in Yorkshire. It’s as simple as that.

Sobriquet describe themselves as post-hardcore, I’m not entirely sure what this means to be honest, so let’s dive into the EP and see what it sounds like.

The EP opens with’ Vriska’, and now I see what they’re getting at. The best I can come up is that it’s a cross between alternative rock and hardcore metal. It has the quiet/loud thing going and it has very heavy guitars and that sort of growl vocals in places. It’s interesting, it works.

The opening of ‘Vriska’ is this ringing guitar figure that suddenly becomes this heavy squealing riff, nice, very nice. The transition to the vocal may sound a little abrupt at first listen but actually after a second listen I don’t actually notice it. This track is full of changes – changes in riffs, changes in feel and changes in vocals. It’s way cool.

The second track ‘No Tunnel, No Light’ is one of my favourites. The alternative rock bits and the hardcore bits are a little more, how shall we say, more melded. And the vocals, there’s rather wondrous breathless vocals at the start, that I have developed quite a thing about. And there’s this bit where the music drops out and the singer says ‘You’re no longer mine’ that just sends a shiver up your spine. By the time I heard the final line – ‘No fucking light’ – I was left drained.

‘Eva Unit’ is relentless. The riff scythes through your brain. It’s a bit like being hit over the head again and again, but it’s great. Hit me again. It’s a bit more metal in balance than the first two tracks. I love it, but it’s quite difficult to say why. There’s the power, there’s the relentlessness, there’s these little moments of lightness that just serve to emphasise quire how heavy the rest is.

The band have produced a video for ‘Auto De Fe’ so you can listen to the track. For me it’s one of my favourites but this is because it’s pretty different to the others. Yep it has the elements, the quiet loud, the heavy heavy and those vocals but it’s the halting feel to to track that I really love. It’s off-kilter. And those backing vocals. It’s all quite quite mad. It swirls, it has bits you could quite easily sing a long to. To make this work is quite a feat.

The final track – Golgotha’ – is other one of those relentless tracks that beats it’s way into your head, and then won’t go away. ‘Feed the flesh to the hungry mouths, feed the flesh to the hungry hungry mouths’, nothing more to be said.

So to the difficult bit, it’s difficult because I really like this EP but can’t for the life of me, really say why. The thing that shines through in the tracks is that these guys can play, and they know how to ‘fuse’ the elements of their sound. But it’s not just that that makes it work for me. There’s something there that I just can’t put my finger on. The thing that made me go back and listen again way more than was really needed for this review.

You may find, as I did, that on your first listen you don’t get it entirely. It took me going back again to start to really get it. To get a feel for quite how complex this music is, it’s not just mindless thrash. So what I’d advise you to do is to try it, but don’t give up right away it you don’t get it, let it seep into your head, let it swirl a bit, go back and try again

The EP is available on Spotify, iTunes, and your personal music platform of choice!

The info

Sobriquet are a post-hardcore band from Sheffield

Ludovico Fahey – Vocals
Tom Green-Morgan – Guitar
Jake Askew – Guitar
Michael Chilton – Bass
James “Tuner” Turner – Drums/Backing vocals

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sobriquetband/
Website: http://sobriquetband.wixsite.com/sobriquet