When I first heard their single “People Help the People”, I thought great (sarcasm!), another ‘housewife’ band, so I ignored them for a while. I was further put off, when I imported their album on to iTunes, where the boffins had categorised the band within the country genre. The first things that come to mind for me with Country music are Dolly Parton “9 to 5”, and “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus (no further explanation required). It was not until I heard other tracks by chance that I started to lean towards them (at first from the closet).

This band from Manchester, have produced music that force you to listen to each line, anticipating the next line to find out where the story of each song will take you. Many bands and their albums can be thought of as inspiring musically or lyrically, but I believe it is rare that a band can be life inspiring. From the ‘heart stopping’ opening lines, to the atmospheric bridges the lyrics and music lead you to think of things in life that need to change, but also crucially of injustices not only in one’s day-to-day routine, but also across the globe. “People Help the People” is one particular track and “Roses” for example opens with “blind me with distraction, build a frontier across the void, all tomorrow has been destroyed in a breathe”. This further stamps that this band has not only created an album I consider to be in contention as my album of the year, but an album of songs that can nurture you to think of things away from the music, and hopefully change the little things in one’s life that one does not necessarily agree with.

You may be thinking that this album is heavy, and you may just want to listen without thinking too hard. Believe me this could not be further from the truth. Dotted strategically are songs that are up-tempo, and could cause a little foot tapping. Examples are “Alfred the Great” and “Here come the Romans” which are as raw as the unrestricted rock from the Kaiser Chiefs, without compromising the tightness in the music. The album is littered with lines that just make you jealous that you did not think of them first, as it is not only deep and meaningful, but actually quite funny. “Dead Man’s Suit” contains the line “Drunken old Olympian in the blocks, lousy on the trigger with his eye on the clock”. It conjures the thought of Linford Christie staggering out of the blocks with half a bottle of gin in his hand.

In conclusion, this album is open to whatever mindset the listener is in at the time. One could see the album as superb musically without hurting one’s head, alternatively one could be just as easily be inspired and relate each line to their life. My opinion is with the latter. I see the album as a strong example of the strength in depth that the British music industry has developed over the past ten years. I recommend listening to the album more than once, as you may be one of the lucky ones this album could inspire.