THE BACKSTORY:
In a place such as Manchester, a city overflowing with new music, it can’t be easy for a young, aspiring band to make themselves heard. However, in just a few short months, rising stars Furrowed Brow have impressively cut through the clutter and established themselves with their deadly blend of iconoclasm, intellect and – of course – cracking good tunes.
Led by frontman Richey, a glamourous figurehead who could have easily slotted into Generation Terrorists-era Manic Street Preachers, Furrowed Brow have firmly positioned themselves as the antidote to blokey, white-bread guitar rock – the anti-Sherlocks, if you will.
Their sound, which channels Violent Femmes, The Fall and Magazine, is a thrilling onslaught of brash guitars, vibrant synths and robust post-punk melodies. The band’s lyrics, meanwhile, are equally as potent and artfully constructed. Shot through with scabrous humour and a burning sense of ennui, their songs tackle an intriguing variety of subject matter, from suicide (‘Killed Myself and the Kids’) to capricious wannabe rock-stars (‘My Bone Idle Idol’).
With social distancing measures currently in place, it’s just a shame that we can’t witness the band’s live shows – performances full of drama, energy and glorious theatricality. In the meantime, though, make sure you pick up their new debut EP, Dead Dead Dead Still Digging, and get yourselves acquainted with Manchester’s most charismatic new band.
KEY TRACK: ‘My Bone Idle Idol’ – a Fall-esque, psycho-glam stomper which features the brilliant line, “Money is wasted on the rich, they’d force Da Vinci to work at Wetherspoons.”
FOR FANS OF: The Fall, The Damned, The Teardrop Explodes, Violent Femmes.
