There's no doing things by halves in the Leeds punk rock scene. And The Dauntless Elite have worked hard to establish themselves not only on that stage, but considerably further afield, partly thanks to their work appearing on Plan-it-X records.
TDA are what you get what you split vocal duties, and you split them well. A complete contrast of tone, harshness and aggression makes for some fantastic layering in this album, as in 'It takes a ship to sail' which is outstandingly melodic, and also in 'I can move if funk is happening around me'. But then it's all switched up style as tracks like 'Shilling', which reminds me of earlier EP
Security?. And, after several plays through, it has to be said there is a greater overall balance and depth to the album, both in terms of style and lyrical content.
I was thoroughly unsurprised to see a re-recorded version of 'You're a funny guy... I'll kill you last!' appear, which was first featured on the 7" split with the Because. The first one was a riotous live hit (and deservedly so), and so it has been kept relatively similar with only the guitars sounding slightly tweaked. But it's a bit longer, and that's to allow room for the weirdest outro I've heard in a good while. There's a grime rapper, choral singing and something which sounds like a Japanese version of The Clangers. Not knowing what to make of this, I took solace in the fact that the rapping was as bad as my own. 'I am a ninja, my life is lonely and difficult' from their split with Jets vs Sharks also makes a welcome re-appearance – a song whose lyrics are just simply brilliant (“God bless this ship, and all the stubborn mules who'll sink in it”).
It has to be said I was impatient for this release – I couldn't even wait half an hour to buy and change a fuse that had blown in my speaker system, so I sat and had a quick listen in the car. And I'm not disappointed. It's not a stretch to say this sits alongside Milloy's
More Than A Machine as one of the best UK punk rock releases of the last few years, and as such deserves a spot in your ‘must buy’ list. By 'eck, lad.
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