ALBUM REVIEW: Basht. – ‘Poor Advice’

Tell you what is poor advice—being an Irish post-punk band releasing your debut the week before Fontaines D.C.’s new one.

It does appear that Basht. kinda snookered themselves with that one, doesn’t it? Likewise, there’s the ever-wide glut of their indie and alternative countryfolk to contend with, and this year’s breakthroughs among them. Basht. will likely be the last of them to put out a full body of work in 2026, no doubt leaving themselves open for comparisons and contrasts aplenty. They’re not as ferocious as Gurriers or heady as Florence Road, and that might as well be the same surly, greyscale raggamuffin on the artwork as on Bleech 9:3’s EP.

To Basht.’s advantage, though, there’s a different Irish band that Poor Advice has more in common with—U2, especially on their 1981 album October. That album was an exploration of faith, and the crises with which it brings when the church is such an inextricable thread in Irish society. 45 years later, Basht. offer their own examinations, and the fact that little has changed lends such an interesting subtext to Poor Advice. Jack Leavey’s voice is almost trapped in his throat on songs like Dive and Keira Knightley, vocalising the product of oppressive doctrine being weathered for years. It’s made outright text on Superchurch, where guilt and ostracism are drilled-in consequences of breaking from religious structure, there to be feared. Circadia presents it almost as indoctrination, where concepts of sin are instilled in children to keep the cycle from breaking for another generation.

That’s a pretty great start for a band in Basht.’s position. They aren’t pulling punches, but also don’t engage in the stone-faced, clenched-jawed bruising of many a post-punk name. As a result, Poor Advice is a cold, brittle listen, almost physically enshadowed by its premise. ‘Gloomy’ is not an appropriate descriptor, though; that almost seems too atmospheric for an album that deliberately wants atmosphere sucked away. Thus, the songs on Poor Advice are hemmed and gutted by design, where any attempt to break free is deliberately roughshod. There’s no anthemic quality to Keira Knightley or Kids Vs Guns; at their highest high, they’re grubby and scraggly.

Again, the feel is very early-‘80s U2, without neglecting the ideals that modern post-punk strives for. (When Dive offers up a twisted, hollowed-out interpolation of My Favorite Things from The Sound Of Music, that’s Basht. on the genre map from now on.) The final blend is a form of indie-rock that leaps out without having to be brash or boisterous. The rhythm section is especially excellent, as Louis Christle’s bass is always tight and rounded, and there are great opportunities for ramping tension on Keira Knightley and Circadia thanks to Ryan McClelland’s drums. Guitars are here more to facilitate the album’s cold airiness, though that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of more. They sweep across Vermilion Reptilian and whine on Kids Vs Guns, in what wind up being two of most distinctive features of the entire album.

For an example of what doesn’t work for Basht., it has to be Terror TV. This is them trying their hand at a more ‘normal’ post-punk song in the motorik bass and sharp, clean guitars, and it’s totally out of step with their best rhythm. For one, there’s a gummy quality to Leavey’s voice from him having to project, made more apparent by the grainy filter placed on him to push him onwards. Overall, though, Basht. just don’t seem to get much from it, not when it’s so locked in place, and songs like Perfume or Moth stretch in more explorative indie directions. There, there’s the space that Ali Chant’s production thrives in, and the chance for extra dynamics is, of course, worth taking.

It’s all the better for Poor Advice, which brings Basht. flying out of the gates with a great, interesting sound and, crucially, their own identity. They seem much more than just a face in an overstuffed crowd, or anklebiters with nothing new to add. Rather, Basht. already seem to be chipping out something all of their own, and have arguably made it among the most impressive of this wave. Poor Advice is the work of a band with heaps to offer, no matter how tight their scene’s space may get.

For fans of: U2, The Murder Capital, Bleech 9:3

‘Poor Advice’ by Basht. is released on 9th October on LAB Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall