Bath punks The Setbacks have been busy boys with this album The Labour of love for songwriter Adrian Elliott and the rest of his West Country punk rockin amigos. It gets underway with the sprightly punchy blast of ‘I Will Stand’ with gang vocals on the chorus its Street punk baby and bouncing along with as much energy as they can muster, it freewheels through The title track leaning heavily on American pop punk with loads of melody in the vocals its bright and a lot of fun.
The production is loud and there’s the right amount of light and shade wedged into each song meaning it’s never stifled and muddy which helps this style bounce on. Theres a lot of music to get through with twelve tracks packing this second Setbacks album out. the pace is like a battle cry from the first track until the more melodic ‘Sunday’. If you’re holding out for a punk rock ballad then you’ll be disappointed but the Clash-inspired ‘Lulus Leaving’ but they do leave the best til last, it has a nice bass rundown and a catchy chorus. it might lack originality but they sound like they’re having a blast, it’s tight and honest and they certainly do melodic street punk with heart and soul. It’s not exclusively America that does melodic street punk these Brits can pull It off just as convincingly and The Setbacks are the proof. If writing and recording a tight and fun record was the MO then the mission is accomplished -the setbacks do it with a swagger. Oh, and I love the artwork.
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Author: Dom Daley
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