Humberside heroes LIFE caused quite a stir with 2017 debut Popular Music, among other things breaking into Radio 1's Albums of the Year list where they rubbed shoulders with the likes of Jay-Z and Wolf Alice.
The Hull four-piece, whose website humbly describes them as the first such band from the city to make a splash since the Housemartins, trade politics for the personal on new record A Picture of Good Health, which channels post punk and an awful lot more besides in what could be a shining example of the 'Hull' sound – whatever that may be.
The Hull four-piece, whose website humbly describes them as the first such band from the city to make a splash since the Housemartins, trade politics for the personal on new record A Picture of Good Health, which channels post punk and an awful lot more besides in what could be a shining example of the 'Hull' sound – whatever that may be.
The title track hammers home the message with the frenzied look in its eyes of someone who, just maybe, is not at all a picture of good health and instead has a crippling caffeine addiction and four months of 60-hour weeks behind them. But then we have to assume that's the point, an ironic caricature rather than an earnest character study.
Closely aligning themselves with breakout post punk kings IDLES, there is a suitable thrashing cacophony on tracks like 'Grown Up' and 'Half Pint Fatherhood' but, in a year brimming with top-quality music in this vein, LIFE's efforts in this area fall a little flat. This is not the case, however, on adrenaline-rush songs 'Moral Fibre', 'Excites Me' and recent single 'Hollow Thing'. These tunes occupy the pop end of the LIFE spectrum and are all the better for it; the Hull boys know a good hook when they see it, and Mez's vocals serve as a step ladder which lifts the band's best songs above those of their peers. 'It's A Con' adds a bit of grit and sneer, brilliantly combining all of the above and suddenly clicking into place – although it's not a place LIFE spend too much time, instead releasing the comparatively pedestrian 'Bum Hour' as a single.
The occasional brushes with quasi-spoken vocals a la Sleaford Mods for the most part come off well ('Niceties' is a rewarding entreaty to "stop hating yourself") and reach their peak on the sarcastic 'Thoughts'. This is a surprise highlight, adding in a genuine groove which would be completely unexpected were it not for the bassline of 'Never Love Again'. It's a commendably different aspect to the LIFE sound but, even though this is not strictly an isolated incident, still comes across a little scattergun, like Lee Evans on the Download main stage.
Clocking in at a by-no-means-uncommon 13 tracks, A Picture of Good Health nevertheless manages to feel flabby and stretched a little thin in places – there are some cracking tunes to be found, but a lack of a sonic signature across the record as a whole makes these better suited to a concentrated EP rather than an album which is easy to listen to but hard to love.
Words - Joe Ponting
Life official
A Picture Of Good Health is out now on Afghan Moon