Description
London group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled “”Dead Meat””. The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen ”O” Williams and George ”GN” Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps/Goon Sax, et al).””Dead Meat”” is resplendent in hi-fidelity strum & thrum, incorporating fleeting elements of post-punk and indie jangle, but the group”s penchant for trad British folk & Canterbury folk-rock takes a noticeable, caffeinated step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention’s decidedly English chime cross swords with singer Owen Williams” lyrics directing Bryan Ferry”s “”thinking man”s libertine”” persona into a more dolorous outlook. Many songs (like “”Round The Bend”” and “”Duped””) soar with an urgent strum under Williams” acerbic lyrics, recalling a younger fiery Richard Thompson. They languish in an aching, bitter resignation (of both the situations described & the protagonist”s place in it), particularly near the album”s second half. Others like the previously released “”I Don”t Know How It Works””, “”Two Person Love”” and “”Illusion”” (re-presented here as “”Illusion Pt. II”” and all rerecorded from their original 7-inch versions) up the urgency, implying that the journey for the person described in each tune is not over & may be even more desperate than before. The band has never been tighter & more dynamic, often imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension, an extra guitar strum overdubbed, a barely audible organ/synth cranking under a chorus or bridge, or unexpected backups from current Ex-Vöid (and ex-Joanna Gruesome) vocalist Lan McArdle. The Tubs are poised to take over your stereo – there’s no point in resisting.
