Rating: 8/10
By A J Salisbury
Incisions eponymous full length release on TNS Records is fast, furious and full of venom and vitriol, a running commentary of the social problems facing the population of modern day Britain. Although an angry release there is enough dry sarcasm and acerbic wit to make the Mancunian punks début release more than just another two dimensional hardcore album.
Don’t expect sprawling opus’ about modern life, the album’s 12-tracks are wrapped up in just under 20-minutes, with only two tracks breaking the two minutes mark, but then what more would you expect from a band like Incisions? All the tracks on offer here are performed at blistering speed, some even breaking into near-thrash territory, but all played with precision, you can tell these guys are tight as a Tories pocket.
Speaking of Tories, I get the feeling that these boys aren’t their biggest fans, in fact the controlling classes in general get a bit of a brutal beat down lyrically across this release, but, isn’t that how punk should be? A big middle-finger to the mainstream and the elitist self-serving politicians.
‘War in your head’, lead single from this self-titled release, is a clear attack on those who rule us. From the repeated opening line of “they’ll kill us all”, through to the final guitar notes it’s a dissection of politicians who are more concerned with foreign wars and resource grabbing than ‘homeless who are dying’ on our streets. Jordan Lloyd, lead vocalist, pleads “don’t give your money to them, give your money to me, they use it to start wars, under false pretenses, but we all know what they’re fighting for”.
Second single, ‘Follow’, is aimed at the re-emergence of the far-right in Brexit Britain, a track filled with real hate and anger towards this part of society. Like the Tories, I don’t think the Incisions boys are going to invite any fascists around for a cup of tea, “Don’t care one bit, so why should I, I oppose your views, so one of us has to die”. As they say in the description of their video for ‘Follow’, ‘This world belongs to everyone, except for fascists and their little fuckin’ pig heads’, and I have to agree with them.
This release is a must-have for any fans of the UK DIY punk scene and it’s another excellent release from TNS records, who just seem to keep churning out absolute punk ragers. Incisions could have easily slipped into the cookie-cuttered hardcore stereotype, but there’s plenty of intelligent content here, along with balls-to-the-wall drinking tunes to keep all but the most ancient and stubborn of punk fans entertained.
Listen to the album in full here:
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