Dealing With Damage – ‘The London Particular’ (Serial Bowl Records)

Dealing With Damage – ‘The London Particular’ (Serial Bowl Records)

After signing with Serial Bowl, Dealing With Damage serve up their first helping of music on their ‘London Particular’ album. After making yourself comfortable, sit back, relax and let the introduction wash over you before we get down to some serious post-punk post hardcore business, call it what you like, it all sounds good to me. There are elements of what was happening in DC several decades ago, there is melody not too distant from early Lemonheads and No Means No, and of course, anything Bob Mould laid his hands on it’s that ballpark if you want references.

There sounds like a joy to the album as well as if the guys in the band know what they’re doing and are just dishing up the best they can as they go from straight edge hardcore to radio-friendly melodic harmonies of ‘Nickey Nickey’ where you can sing along as the band just gives it plenty of welly and the thumping Bass workout is a pleasure. Also, the keys help soften the sound and add flavour.

This record doesn’t sound like they had any difficulties with their third offering, and on ‘Wrong Sometimes’, with the keys, they stray into a very appealing International Noise Conspiracy territory, and that’s never going to be a bad thing, as the keys work well alongside the dirty riff.

It’s not all abrasive sounds and edgy moments ‘But Fear This Art’ is laid back, sprinkled with technology-enhanced soundscapes. Spread out over fifteen tracks, you absolutely get your money’s worth as the ebb and flow is excellent, going from the more aggressive ‘Be Careful’ and ‘Hate Can Set You Free’ where the Dads can get a pit going in their lounge and body slam to the rhythm section work out of ‘Headful Of Feedback’.

As we reach the album’s final breath, ‘The Off Switch’ meanders, taking you on a journey right to the album’s closing track ‘One Bump At A Time’, where you get eased back to reality with some soothing Acoustic guitar, reminding me of Jim Bob or TV Smith, which is never a bad thing. Get some Dealing With Damage in your ears and start with the here and now, ‘The London Particular’.

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Author: Ben Hughes

DEALING WITH DAMAGE RELEASE NEW ALBUM ‘THE LONDON PARTICULAR’ FEBRUARY 27th VIA SERIAL BOWL RECORDS

DEALING WITH DAMAGE RELEASE NEW ALBUM ‘THE LONDON PARTICULAR’ FEBRUARY 27th VIA SERIAL BOWL RECORDS

ORDER THE ALBUM HERE

London Proto Next Wave exponents Dealing With Damage are set to return with their third album, scheduled for release February 27th via Sunderland based Serial Bowl Records. Titled ‘The London Particular’, the album is named after the original phrase used to describe what came to be known as ‘pea souper fogs’ as far back as 1820.

“This was because of all the particles in the air,” explains singer/guitarist Ed Wenn. “So hence The London Particular. It describes a dangerous smog, and it sounds like a newspaper title, so we thought it was a good vehicle for our take on the fog of shit that’s going on in the world at the moment with the added nod to our hometown where the album was written, rehearsed and recorded.”

But first, some background.

In the autumn of 2023, DWD had been without a bass player for a few months and they were fast running out of promising leads. There were no gigs, rehearsals or recordings to be had so Ed filled the gap by writing a ton of new songs and putting together demos, ready to work on when a new bass player was found. In the absence of any other band activity working on those demos became an all-consuming passion into which he invested a lot of time and energy. The aim was to come up with material that didn’t sound like DWD and wouldn’t result in just another version of the last album. This intention was reinforced from the outset with the new songs sketched out with a bass part, onto which were layered Sonic Youth-inspired guitar in tunings that we’d not used before, followed by vocals influenced by Jon Foxx and the 1979 school of arty, synth flavoured, post-punk. The results were exciting and the material for the next album felt like it was coming together really well, even if there wasn’t actually a band in place to start work on it.

Finally, in November 2024, bassist Owen Cox was recruited into the DWD ranks and – with a mixture of relief and no small amount of excitement – rehearsals & studio time were booked. 20 minutes into the first rehearsal though two things became glaringly obvious. Firstly, Owen was the perfect fit: brimming with energy, talent and ideas and with a playing style that immediately took DWD to a very different place. Secondly, those demos from the summer and autumn had to go. The inspiration and the intention to move on could be retained, but DWD was suddenly a very different band with a significantly expanded sonic horizons and it demanded different material. 

“The London Particular” – a product of the nation’s capital – was written in Kentish Town and recorded over 4 sessions from November 2023 to November 2024 at Perry Vale studio with Pat Collier (RIP) and Jess Cochran and One Cat studio with Jon Clayton. Final overdubs and edits were done by Ed and Andy and home and the whole thing was pulled together in a magical mixing session by long-time collaborator, Roop Coulson at The Mix Dungeon in Star Lane.

Two vinyl EPs were released in 2024 while DWD went from strength to strength as a live act; playing as often as schedules allowed. The new energy was infectious and resulted in another long-time collaborator, Steve Cox, joining the band full time on keyboards to flesh out the sound and bring another perspective to the writing process. The final piece fell into place in the spring of 2025, when the band signed on the dotted line with Serial Bowl Records and plans were hatched to bring the new songs into the world.

*Direct Influences*: Sonic Youth, Alternative TV, Graham Nash, John Foxx’s Metamatic, Joni Mitchell’s Hissing Of Summer Lawns, Wipers, early Cure and 60s Garage. Not a DC post-hardcore band in sight.

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