Gurriers share their socially-conscious sophomore album ‘Nobody’s Coming To Save You’
The searing voice of today’s disillusioned youth, Gurriers’ ability to turn frustration into rabble-rousing movement remains one of the band’s greatest strengths.
★★★½☆
Photo: Steve Gullick
On their second album Nobody’s Coming To Save You, Gurriers aren’t simply vocalising the hopelessness that many feel today; they’re calling us to action. Apocalyptic yet defiant, it’s filled with shuddering drums, blistering guitars and a restless energy that is bound to thrive live.
Opening with the one-two punch of singles Nobody’s Coming To Save You and Party Lines, the Irish post-punk band immediately confronts empire, capitalism and war in a way that is as direct and informed as it is self-aware. American political scientist and historian Michael Parenti’s famous words open Party Lines with a straightforward honesty — “The third world is not poor, you don’t go to poor countries to make money” — that is matched by vocalist Dan Hoff’s own purposeful lyricism: “A ruse, a deal, a way to kill and steal / When all they do is take and take.”
Although these themes aren’t unusual in punk, and Gurriers aren’t necessarily doing anything particularly novel with them, what sets them apart is the clarity with which they articulate their frustrations. Hoff’s abrasive shout and the sheer physicality of the band’s sound give their political anger a visceral quality, turning ideas that could easily feel distant into something immediate and physical.
That confrontationality is pushed to its limits on Shades, which sits at the noisier end of an already raucous spectrum. Disjointed guitar riffs, distorted vocals and Pierce Callagahan’s relentless drumming make for a track that is rough by design. It may not be the album’s most convincing moment, but it does demonstrate just how far Gurriers are willing to push their sound.
For all the noise, though, this isn’t just a band making a racket. The rhythmic quality of their guitar work remains captivating, giving the album a musical substance that matches its lyrical weight. Drones’ creeping momentum and pulsing bassline offer a brooding moment amid the album’s frequently relentless pace, while Nothing Happens Twice and Waiting For Fisher are mosh-ready hits that make you almost break a sweat just by listening to them.
The comparably less in-your-face closers I Wish I Was and Crybaby then showcase the band’s dynamism, with I Wish I Was proving a particular highlight. An initially more restrained track that builds into a cathartic release with sweeping guitar work and mounting urgency, it finds the quintet at their most raw and emotionally honest. For a band so often looking outward and thinking about the bigger picture, it feels like their most personal song to date.
Gurriers remain tapped into the issues that are dominating many of our lives right now and, while they, like many of us, don’t have the answers to any of the world’s problems, they are providing a much-needed outlet for them.
Nobody’s Coming To Save You is out now via Play It Again Sam.