Deadletter - Heat! (So Recordings) 
Release Date: Out Now
I am very excited about Yorkshire collective Deadletter and this debut EP is one of the many reasons for my excitement. 'Heat!' is a five track collection that shows off a band at the sharp end of their creative talents and that's always the best place to find a band. Opening with 'Weights', Deadletter set about using the angularity of their guitars and the sinister tones of a low slung bass line to underpin the near spoken-word vocals delivering lines like "Life imitates art they say in which case arts must be utter dismay". Moody, arty, cool, biting and sharp - this is as strong an opening as you'll hear this year or next.
But this is no one track wonder, no. 'Madge's Declaration' has a dirty, grimy, downtrodden vibe that harks back to the dark days of the early 80s singing "I've got shoes but no soul and I live in a material world". Recent single 'Binge' still sounds as brilliantly jarring as always with the kind of energy that makes you want to dance at the indie disco but that dour vocal and lyrical delivery keeping you grounded the whole time. 'The Kingdom' blends the Fall's raw energy with the Specials' social commentary and the kind of performative sound that you might have expected from Ian Dury and the Blockheads. The EP closes out with 'Zeitgeist' which sets bleak and direct poetry to equally bleak but more intangible melodies to create a sound so swirlingly dark and disorientating that you could imagine your mind being altered by the time song climaxes. If you like the no-nonsense approach of IDLES, Fontaines D.C., LIFE or the Clockworks but crave something with a little more of a swagger and panache then Deadletter are the band for you. A Clockwork Orange in musical form, perhaps?
More information: https://www.facebook.com/DEADLETTERTHEBAND
Live Dates:
24th November 22 - London, Paper Dress Vintage (SON Estrella Galicia)27th November 22 - London, Brixton O2 Academy w/Placebo1st December 22 - London, Lexington (BBC Music Introducing)8th December 22 - Portsmouth, The Loft10th - 12th February 23 - Grauzone Festival, Netherlands25th February 23 - Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall (Dark Arts Festival)