Mutineers are one of Manchester’s best kept secrets. They’ve been slaving away at the Northern live circuit for years and have just recorded an album so diverse we can’t even think of anything to compare it to! Here’s a track by track review of their debut LP, Friends, Lovers, Rivals…
1) Infidelity The album gets off to a corking start with Infidelity. It starts off with a driving, almost disco beat before transforming itself into a Stone Roses-eque indie rock track. Singer Nicholas Mallins wails tunefully over the top; he almost sounds like Morrissey! A great start and an interesting listen.
2) Shadow Kisses Kicking into life with smooth synths and groovy basslines, Shadow Kisses is one of our favourite tracks of the album and one of the best tracks we’ve heard so far this year. A powerfully catchy chorus really lifts the track into top gear… Epic and soulful, and just a great track overall.
3) One Last Chance This one reminds us of The Kooks being put through a New Order machine. and whether or not you think that’s a good thing) we think that it sounds brilliant. It’s a real mix of genres and themes all spread across one track. Cries of ‘so give me one last chance…’ echo through the chorus; we think this one would be a real winner live and could very well turn into an anthem for the iPod generation.
4) Okay Another album highlight, and an all around belter. Starting off with a U2-esque guitar riff, the track soon transforms into something resembling The Smiths – catchy, rocky but still beautifully melodic; there really is no other way to describe it. Lyrically it could be the work of Sirs Bono or Morrissey themselves, and musically there’s something for everyone. A great track!
5) Landlord’s Daughter A change in pace from the start of the album, Landlord’s Daughter is a groovy, bass-led waltz. That’s pretty much all there is to say about it.
6) My Words Desert You Another slow one, but this time with more of a jangly feel. It’s a bit like the Last Shadow Puppets – lyrically gorgeous (as always), melodically pleasant, and with more than a hint of the sound of early U2.
7) Apologies Back to the uptempo blitz of the first half of the album, and this is where Mutineers really come into their stride. An upbeat tempo, more U2 guitars and a melody so catchy you can practically feell it rattling around your brain, this is another album highlight.
8) The Auctioneer We can see this one being a real live favourite of Mutineers fans. Bouncy, energetic and a proper anthem chorus – it’s got everything a great track should have. Our one reservation is that the recording doesn’t do it justice – we think that a lot more of the energy that is clear when you watch them live could have been captured on the recording.
9) Stick Together It’s another bouncy and energetic one, and we love it. Probably the highlight of the entire album, Stick Together is a great example of what Mutineers do best – catchy, anthemic indie rock that just makes you wanna shout the lyrics at the top of your lungs. A perfect track.
10) Alone In Our Ideas Back to the sound of the first half of the album, and for us it’s all starting to wear a bit thin. It’s a great track, but it’s all a bit too similar for our liking. A great chorus saves it – it’s a catchy, primal, anthemic roar of a chorus, and by God is it great. But still, a bit similar.
11) Hyde Road So we’ve reached the end of the album and the final track, Hyde Road. Hyde Road is a driving, crunching piece of indie goodness. Yet another great chorus (the album’s full of ’em) and unusually brilliant verses cement this track as one of the highlights of Friends, Lovers, Rivals.
