We’re pretty spoiled for choice for punk in the UK at the minute. Between Creeper inching ever closer to something so, so special and Slaves bringing some frenzy to the mainstream, you’d think there’s no more brilliant homegrown talent to be eked out of the genre. Then, from out of bloody nowhere, come Less Deceived with this absolute rager of an EP.
The Hull quartet’s sound is one that’s deceptively difficult to master, but it’s a feat they’ve conquered as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Average Songs… is five tracks of melodic, burly gruff-punk that’s custom made for swilling a load of beer and singing at the top of your lungs. The colours they paint with have a pretty narrow range – there’s not a whole lot that varies between these five songs – but their still bursting at the seams with thrills. I’ll Burn You Some CDs and Obscure References For A Disinterested Audience are the kind of singalongs that casually saunter their way into life-affirming territory, while vocals imbued with copious amounts of grit extinguish any thoughts of it being saccharine.
There’s very little to fault about Average Songs…. Yes, it’s a bit repetitive, but when the songs have as much style and substance as they do, that becomes a minor blemish on what it an almost surprisingly great report. Even the runtime works to their favour – five songs in fifteen minutes injects that extra half a yard of pace into precedings, and puts tracks like the thunderous My Main Weakness Is How Weak I Am up there with the best.
What is most impressive about Average Songs… though, is, in a genre where it feels like every conceivable idea has been done, there’s a freshness to this EP, even though it doesn’t really do anything massively original. A few listens and it becomes evident that Less Deceived are being a bit modest with that title – these songs are nowhere near average.
8/10
For fans of: Iron Chic, Me Vs Hero, Latterman
Words by Luke Nuttall
‘Average Songs About The Best Days Of Our Lives’ by Less Deceived is out now.
