I think it’s fair to say that ‘London’ is one of the most anticipated albums from a UK band this year. It’s been a long time coming from APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE. They’re a band who don’t particularly sound like anybody else – something different to the norm that is completely refreshing to listen to.
The album kicks off with the irrepressible ’60 Miles’ before launching into fan favourite ‘Sat in Vicky Park‘ and, whatever the reason for the time it took for this band to release their debut record, it becomes immediately apparent it was worth it. The production is crisp while still being loud and makes the album a joy to listen to.
As far as song writing ability goes, ‘Concrete Feet’ shows APOLOGIES are up there with the best of them – the word epic shouldn’t be used lightly, but this is a song deserving of the description; from the opening group vocal to the bridge’s overlapping vocals, the song weaves through different points of brilliance and comes together for an immensely satisfying conclusion.
Arguably the best two songs on the album are ‘Holloway or Anywhere’ and ‘The 26’ – two songs that blend into one with consummate ease – and you would be forgiven for not noticing where one ends and the other begins. That may be a criticism for some, but here it just works. There’s a distinct mood change between the two, with the latter providing possibly the best moment of the album when frontman Dan Bond screams that he’s going to “smash this bitches face in, find the cunt and stab the fucker”, which although on the face of it seems to glamourize violence, it really is far from that – the subject matter of the song is important and the line is an immediate thought reaction to being cheated on. It’s a massively clever bit of writing because the intensity of the line when sung is obvious, but the following lines express some much needed rationale. The song essentially tells a story and does well to show just how good APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE can really be.
All in all, APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE have put out one of more memorable debut albums of recent times in ‘London’, and there has clearly been a lot of work put into every song – each retains its own qualities and no two sound too similar. To put it simply, there’s barely any filler on the record if there any at all. APOLOGIES I HAVE NONE can be extremely proud in what they have achieved here.
CHRIS MARSHMAN