Album Assessment

Meatraffle 

Base and Superstructure 

(Blang Information)

LP / CD / DL

Out twenty ninth September 2023 Pre-save on digital 

Intoxicatingly danceable, purveyors of Bastard Music and Hello Fi Classics,  South London’s Meatraffle navigate a sardonic but uplifting lyrical pathway via the bullshit life throws at you. Their third studio album marks a brand new sonic departure for the band acknowledged as godfathers of the now notorious South London scene. Sean Smith critiques.

On their third album, there are moments the place socio-political Brixton windmill legends Meatraffle completely tickle all of my dopamine receptors with their scuzzy, sardonic appeal. How will you not fall in love with a track that begins with the road “My mum beloved Bryan Ferry. How a lot? Very, very.”

However as amusing as that opening couplet is, the observe itself is a scathing missive on “Posh Individuals in Pop”, with trumpet-blasting frontman Zsa Zsa Sapien sticking the boot in over a musical backing that might virtually be classed as a extra refined and fewer sweary model of Kunt & The Gang. However this isn’t simply somebody digging out higher class musicians in an artless trend, there’s a lovely self-awareness at play as Sapien readily admits: “Why do I all the time carry class into it? It’s as a result of the individuals within the decrease courses endure most, innit / I’ve obtained a chip on my shoulder the scale of a strengthened concrete boulder”.

Single “Lovesong Industrial Advanced” is a traditional slice of bleak, mesmerising disco the place a laconic Sapien strips down the obsession society has with the seemingly infinite circulation of meaningless, futile and emotionally hole love songs. “Individuals pay for love songs or obtain them illegally Children as younger as 3 sing about them, extremely There may be nothing incorrect with a track about love However they’re not often ever platonic A lot of full bloodied lust and crying in your gin and tonic”

“Mannaggia La Miseria” with arresting vocals from Cloudy Truffles, is an upbeat mix of latest wave, ska and Altered Photos that dissects how fucked our trickle down economic system is. It has a moreish refrain, with the titular Italian phrase an ideal abstract of the state of 2023 UK. An actual spotlight.

Their goal isn’t all the time true. “Bully Boss” targets the over-familiar low-hanging fruit of getting a dickhead supervisor at work, full with a “stick your job up your arse” type chorus. However the misfires are rare and the ‘raffle have loads of different tips up their sleeves.

I’m all the time drawn to acts who’re capable of make one thing musically viable when discussing mundane on a regular basis subjects, or absurd flights of fancy. Pissed Denims are a wonderful instance, dedicating crushing partitions of grunge noise to a track eulogising ice cream. Meatraffle are additionally notable exponents of this wonderful method. Prior to now they delivered us a track a couple of displaced Mafiosi holed out on an allotment in Norbury. “Secret Fizzy Wine Drinker” does just about what it says on the tin, set in opposition to a stupendous synthwave backdrop. “Been up all night time, filling in my tax returns / however within the fridge downstairs I do know there’s fizz inside” delivered with a hilarious sense of longing. It’s wonderful. They don’t cease there both. “Energy Bathe” is an addictive, bass-driven confection that’s an ode to the fun of singing to at least one’s self within the titular cubicle. It options extra lyrical corkers, together with “I do know my voice ain’t that nice, however after I’m having a wash I’m singing Peter Tosh’s Downpressor Man”. It ends with a wonderful racket of glacial guitars and synths.

There may be a lot to like about Meatraffle. They affirm their oddball, outsider mythos with a few tracks outlining their ridiculous “Avenue Names”, in the identical method because the Wu Tang Clan as soon as launched their alter-egos, solely a lot, rather more British. It’s humorous, likeable, and simple to purchase into. They reinforce this with the stunning closing observe “Smallest Gang” which over one other heat, luxurious synthwave outlines their manifesto as champions of the underdog, the disenfranchised, the meek; positioning themselves as a mild-mannered gang of variety, shut knit shoplifters who’re essentially the most loveable bunch of pussies you may ever encounter. They’re a gang I’d fortunately signal as much as.

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Meatraffle Gigs 

29 Sept – The Windmill, Brixton

30 Sept – the George Tavern, East London

All phrases Sean Smith