A live review of London band Desperate Journalist at Chinnerys in Southend.
Desperate Journalist – Maximum Sorrow
Last month, London’s Desperate Journalist released their fourth LP ‘Maximum Sorrow’. Released via Fierce Panda, it was self-produced and engineered by Rollo Smallcombe at Crouch End Studios.
Having made the conscious decision to not repeat the rock-pop classic ‘In Search of the Miraculous’, could they reinvent themselves without losing way?
Previous singles ‘Fault’ and ‘Personality Girlfriend’ (among others) put bass player Simon Drowner front and centre. A destructive rage permeates his playing for almost the entirety of the album. The former throbs with a disdain we’ve all felt to those who abandoned leadership in the past eighteen months. On the latter, a punky-disco stomp akin to Bugeye shakes. All the while, singer Jo Bevan’s incredible ability to carry polemic via a gripping narrative reaches new heights. The closing stages adopt Idlewild’s ‘In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction’ complex cacophony of spoken word and guitars but, with a devastating psychedelic annihilation!
It is though, on ‘Utopia’, ‘Fine In The Family’ and ‘Was It Worth It?’ where they nail their new sound. ‘Utopia’ delivers the risk and reward Wolf Alice couldn’t land on their third album. The hints of shoegaze bring about an emotional to proceedings and thus, Bevan’s ethereal vocals beckon, almost summon you into the unknown. ‘Fine in the Family’ is the polar opposite sonically. Tapping into the violence of Asylums’ ‘Napalm Bubblegum’ as Drowner’s bass yet again taps a thunderous vein of form. Meanwhile, ‘Was It Worth It?’ with perhaps a lyrical nod to The Waterboys, strides out to their sorrowful heartlands with a brutal intensity not even The Chameleons could match. The protagonist, an anguished soul lost in a city of darkness with hope dissipating becomes the perfect parable for lockdown:
“they’re all endless roads / On a dismal island”
You can buy the record on their Bandcamp page.
Just when ferocity borders on the all-consuming, they provide a momentary release on ‘Poison Pen’ and ‘Victim’. ‘Poison Pen’, with its ecstatic immediacy and venomous lyrics, creates a polemic and defiance legions would follow. ‘Victim’, a torturous tale of repression and depression is lit up by guitars that could glisten in a thunderstorm. Bevan is faultless. Angelic to punk in an instant, a vocal talent at the peak of her powers
Four albums in, the creative well shows no signs of drying up. Basslines akin to wrecking balls and vocals from the gods, they have nodded at the majesty of ‘Miraculous…’ and said an amicable farewell. An album written in lockdown had the potential to be a lacklustre album from the tour bus; insular and lacking intelligent exploration. Not here, not Desperate Journalist. Every word vitriol, torment, and bile is despatched with wit, intelligence, and charm.
*Image and artwork courtesy of Fierce Panda Records.
Desperate Journalist – Fault
London's four-piece Desperate Journalist are back with their new single ‘Fault’, the lead-off track from their upcoming fourth studio album ‘Maximum Sorrow’ (out July 2nd Fierce Panda Records).
Image & Artwork courtesy of Fierce Panda
Bass player Simon Drowner has struck gold with his basslines upon return. Recorded solely in lockdown, Drowner has tapped into a caged animal mindset. Thrashing around with rage and destruction desperately seeking an avenue for the angst!
Set to the shifting chorus of “it’s no one’s fault / then it’s everyone’s fault”, the past year of miscommunication and lack of leadership bubbles up to the throat in bile form. Singer Jo Bevan, reels you in with an ethereal beauty before you have time to notice the volatility simmering below the surface. A glorious precursor to the political reckoning the majority of the UK has yet to admit It needs.
No one does relationship songwriting like Desperate Journalist. Smudged eyeliner, trampled souls, and the search for meaning are their raison d'etre. With the utmost integrity, they impart yet more life-affirming lyrics for the lost.
In 2019, they hit near perfection on ‘In Search of the Miraculous’. In 2021, they appear to have expanded their horizons and look set to go beyond!
Desperate Journalist: The Garage, London
It’s been a week since Desperate Journalist packed the Garage in North London. We’re still reeling! Make no mistakes, Desperate Journalist are the real deal, they know it, that audience knew it, now, the world must too.
When you have a pop anthem like ‘Why Are You So Boring?’ in your locker, you save it for the climatic end right? Bollocks to that, they blasted it out second and sent London’s eyeliner massive into a frenzy. How do you follow that? With a soul crushing performance of ‘Jonatan’, that’s how.
On this Wolf Alice meets The Cult track, front woman Jo Bevan details the loss of a close friend. Bevan’s style has always been from pure and raw but, the courage she summons to deliver this heartfelt ode is breath taking. As she repeats ‘Jonatan’ at the songs close, Bevan transcends music. It’s so powerful, and so honest, this packed crowd is grieving as one.
Their recent singles ‘Cedars’ and ‘Satellite’ have seen guitarist Rob Hardy shine as bright as Bevan on record. There is a buzz in-between the support acts about this. Just how good are his solos going to be? Their escapist qualities were undeniable but, they highlighted just how much of gang Desperate Journalist are. There was no trundling through both songs to let Hardy take the limelight. If anything, on ‘Cedars’ he wielded his power with a humbleness that made Bevan look even more iconic.
Sometimes, after a great show (and this was), you are left wondering, where do a band go from here? Should they just bow out in a glorious fashion? For Desperate Journalist, even three albums in, this felt like a beginning. Only bigger and greater things are going to come their way.
Desperate Journalist - In Search Of The Miraculous
London’s Desperate Journalist released their third album, ‘In Search of the Miraculous’ (Fierce Panda), on February 22nd. From their self-titled debut (2014) to ‘Grow Up’ (2017), the progress in quality was stark. Can they do it again on what is loosely a concept album about singer Jo Bevan’s obsession with artist Bas Jan Arder?
Images courtesy of Fierce Panda Records
Despite the high concept, their pop instincts remain, and, in the case of ‘Jonatan’ and ‘Cedars’, they have significantly improved. ‘Jonatan’ is The Cult via Wolf Alice’s shoegaze tendencies. It creates a joyous sonic to a tragic tale. Bevan lost her friend Kasper in 2016, and here, she not only pays tribute but, in the repeated one-word chorus, embeds heartache, love, loss, anger, and nostalgia with every inflexion with astonishing quality.
The lead single, Cedars, is one of those pop songs you’d be forgiven for fast-forwarding to the chorus’ hypnotic release of “another fraying jumper.” It’s a beautiful payoff to the subtle and poetic verses.
Their previous two albums, musically, have often served as a vehicle to showcase Jo Bevan’s sublime vocal prowess. Now, guitarist Rob Hardy has found a vein of form so rich that it forged a partnership for the ages.
The singles ‘Cedars’ and especially ‘Satellite’ are beset with crushing Lindsey Buckingham-esque solos. He has begun introducing pop immediacy into the shoegaze on ‘Murmuration’ and ‘Jonatan’ with nods to straight-up rock heroes The Cult. Their archetypal indie-goth sound feels fresher than ever on ‘Black Net’, and on Ocean Wave, Hardy, along with the razor-sharp rhythm of Caz Helbert and Simon Drowner, conjures a post-punk disco stomp classic.
Sometimes, there is a sense of all or nothing for bands on third albums. They chose all in. This is a post-punk ‘Rumours’. This is the rarest tightrope walk, where cutting-edge meets accessible and credible pop music. If Fleetwood Mac signed off their careers with this album, the world would lose its shit! ‘Satellite’ is the new ‘Go Your Own Way’, and ‘Argonauts’ is the new ‘Songbird’.
Desperate Journalist - Satellite
Desperate Journalism return with their second single ‘Satellite’ from their upcoming third album 'In Search Of The Miraculous'. The London outfit, signed to the legendary Fierce Panda are, to date, one of the UK’s best kept secrets.
It is however, hard to imagine that secret lasting much longer. ‘Satellite’ is a vast expansive piece of rock n roll that simply has to dominate the airwaves.
There is a real sense of all or nothing oozing from its soul. Guitarist Rob Hardy, is so often the vehicle to shine a light on the glorious vocals of Jo Bevan. Not anymore. They’ve become duo bouncing of each other a la Pete & Karl or Brown & Squire.
The riffs alone are a joyous piece of escapism but, the solo is a destructive force that will leave souls cleansed and former detractors reeling from their mistakes.
They recently sold out London’s Oslo, on this form, Brixton beckons.
*Image courtesy of Fierce Panda Records