Recorded in a seven-day blitz at Woods Lodge Studios in Essex with Mitch Ayling (The Milk), second album Stubborn Sons doesnt pull any punches. Opener Whats So Good About Happiness? is an infectious commentary on the perils of social media. Stunning Why Should We Do Anything?, meanwhile, was inspired by savage government cuts to arts funding. Heart-rending ballad One And The Same (a co-write with guitarist Billy Farr) was inspired by public reaction to the Tunisian terror attacks of 2015. Stubborn Sons is anything but a hard-faced polemic, however. Musically, its a joy from start to finish, the pulsating grooves, mellifluous Moogs and fuzz guitars nodding to Curtis Mayfield and Gil Scott-Heron while retaining a contemporary edge. Listen to euphoric floor-filler Something More Than This – the sound of John Newman jamming with Tame Impala- and you begin to understand that this is a band destined to fill stadiums.
