Blending an assortment of genres and styles is no mean feat – especially on a debut project. But that’s exactly what London quartet Malady have done. With moody, post-punk undertones, the starlets have woven together threads from every corner of British underground culture, culminating in one of the most daring outputs seen in quite some time from a new band.
The EP, ‘All Pressure, No Diamonds’, is a collection of four stellar tracks, bustling with rave energy and hip-hop flavours. Opener ‘Black Dog’ is a dark cut, visceral and vivid, a sonic snapshot of the grey British landscape and underground club scene. Electronic beats meet twinkling electric guitars, while frontman Junior Cobbinah delivers a relatively monotonal delivery. Oozing charisma, his flows are easily applicable to a hip hop track: cool, calm, reserved, a jagged edge from his vocal timbre.
‘Worse for Wear’ also plays into club sensibilities, with the rhythm section a slightly-slowed garage inflected beat. The synthesisers are plucky, the undertones rich and heavy.
Malady have set a tone with this project, embracing their genre-less persona and delivering an exceptional batch of tracks. The production is excellent, with the group delivering a level of pop polish and sheen rarely heard on such early work.
‘All Pressure, No Diamonds’ is a remarkable foundation for the band to use a springboard into future endeavours, and their existing live track-record will see them doing nothing but rise through the brutal ranks of new bands.
Listen to ‘All Pressure, No Diamonds’ here:
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