The Twang - If Confronted Just Go Mad

“Your face, your race, the way that you talk”

Birmingham’s The Twang return today with ‘If Confronted Just Go Mad’, their first album in five years! Mixed by Mint Royale’s Neil Claxton, a guest appearance from Polar Bear and two new female members of the band, would this be a great rebirth?

Lead single ‘Everytime’ suggests it might just be. Sonically, they’ve always had a connection with sunnier climates, whether it be the jangle of ‘Subscription’ or the Mondays inspired ‘Cloudy Room’. However, on ‘Everytime’, with new band member Cat Mctigue shining like a star, they’ve tapped into the cool crisp soul of the 80s. This is poolside cocktails magic.

As the album grows, it becomes apparent, this is perfect blend of update and re-connection rather than Ziggy to Aladdin Zane reinvention. ‘Time Waits’, takes the debuts exuberance and channels it via carnival beats. Meanwhile, ‘Lovin’ State’ has the romanticism and guitar jangle of ‘Jewellery Quarter’. What they both share is, an older head delivering them. A humbleness permeates the lyrics. An appreciation of family and friends and that love is all you need are prevalent throughout.

‘Dream’, arguably the best example of everything they were and all that they will be. Etheridge’s Shaun Ryder via Mike Skinner vocal delivery collides with the indomitable groove of the Roses’ ‘Fools Gold’. Then Cat Mctigue vocals lend a devilishly joyous fresh impetus. Anyone not raising a wry smile at ‘Morrissey, he is still just Stephen’ is a humour vacuum.

‘It Feels Like You’re Wasting My Time’ witnesses their archetypal shimmering guitars and soaring vocals, but, with this measured approach, they bring a new sense of identity. Lyrically, despite obviously being a personal tale, fans will be hard pressed not to give way to feelings of angst The Twang (and their peers) were too readily discarded by the industry.

As Phil Etheridge sings ‘I give you everything sweat tears blood…it feels like I’m wasting my time’, thoughts of The Enemy, Glasvegas, Reverend & The Makers, The Rifles and The Courteeners great bands, all maligned will come to the surface. Despite this, Etheridge offers a way through:

 “It seems like we’re aint out time / I see now, you aint on my side”

With hooks like this, and younger audiences alive with excitement for DMAs, Gerry Cinnamon and The Shambolics, not only is The Twang’s return well timed, it seems heaven sent to unite generations of outsiders.

Shed Seven - Instant Pleasures

The last time Shed Seven released new material was in May 2001. It was a strange experience for all concerned. The Pistols-esque single 'If The Music Don't Move Yer' was an affirmation of what it was to be Shed Seven, overlooked. For fans, it was an emboldening sense of defiance, but alas, Nu-Metal was the next big thing, and they drifted away. Sixteen years later, the maracas are shaking, and the brass is booming once more, but can 'Instant Pleasures' heal those wounds?

Album opener 'Room In my House', regenerates the swagger of 1996's 'Maximum High'. There is, however, more distinctiveness to their sound this time round. Everything is given its space on this 'Love Spreads' meets soul music banger. This is up there in the pantheon of great comeback singles with 'Ten Story Love Song', 'Nothing Lasts Forever', and 'Public Image'.

For the most part, 'Instant Pleasures' has the immediacy of 'Maximum High' and the pop sensibilities of 'Let It Ride'. The infectious riffs of 'Victoria' conjure images of drunk arms flailing and blurting “I fucking love you” into a best friend’s ear. 'Butterfly On Th Wheel' is the blueprint for so many successful indie bands of the past decade (The Killers, Catfish & The Bottleman, and Circa Waves). The difference between them is Rick Witter. The way he sings, “but I'm over you now / take a look at how it feels”, isn't a soppy tactic to illicit meaning. Witter's delivery imbues honesty and dishonesty in the same breath; it's this sense of confusion around a past loved one that makes it that much more sincere. 'Nothing To Live Down' has so much melody and big key changes that you'd be forgiven in thinking that Noel had written this (minus the scissors, of course). For every chord cul de sac you think it is entering, Witter lifts them out, followed by Paul Banks and Joe Johnson firing riffs and solo magic.

There is another side to this album, though: middle-age wisdom. Thankfully, the lyrics steer clear of beige trousers and bank holiday trips to Homebase. 'It's Not Easy' is a song for anyone on the wrong side of 30 questioning life who doesn't accept 42 as the answer. The spirit of 'Chasing Rainbows' oozes out 'Better Days', a swooning tale of amendment.

Wounds? What wounds? This is as triumphant a return as any Shed Seven fan could have imagined. Big choruses, great solos, and catchy riffs, its like sixteen years never happened. Better still, its all on their own terms. See you all at Shedcember!