I have no clue how long Southport have been going, but it’s been a while. Off and on. Which is always the sign of a band who play music because they want to. Not because of getting known or getting articles in magazines or whatever. I respect this. Not necessarily in the Forum-Nazi sense (“they used to be good before they signed to that label” etc etc – you know the general kind of cuntness) but because it’s fucking hard. Hard to understand sometimes why you are doing it. So kudos to these 3 lads for writing a fresh sounding album, clearly putting a whole lot of themselves into a record they probably don’t expect that many people to hear.
It’s slightly melancholic, introspective, but still anchored in the punk rock roots (let us not forget these boys were 1 third Snuff members). It’s more No Idea records than anything else, but mainly its just a massive nod to the 60s (must be huge Johnny Cash fans I would hazard a guess). The vocals are broken to hell, but as unique as any voice you’ll hear. Sometimes it sounds like the band are so laid back they are horizontal. But it’s still got something about it. Intense, seemingly without trying to be.
I’ll tell you to listen to this, you probably won’t. But you’ll be missing out.
Mike