Lady Bird - WE

The debut full-length from Kentish trio Lady Bird removes the need to imagine how Shame would sound if fused with the Britpop genetics of Oasis and Blur; ‘WE’ bludgeons home a hard-rocking set of straight-talking, state-of-the-nation garage-punk serrated with scissoring riffage and righteous kilter - a streak for a saucy Noel Gallagher shred or power ballad sluices things up nicely. And, as if Sleaford Mods had conscripted a fresh-faced Damon Albarn to join their waspish ranks, most distinct in Lady’s Bird’s arsenal is the verbose shout-singing of vocalist Don Bird; he strains every vocal chord in choiring to disenfranchised youth the country over. He spins kitchen-sink yarns of bleak prospects and unjust poverty to proffer yet another harsh reminder that this nation of ours might be totally, totally fucked. There’s some skeins of hope drifting through the cracks though: the title track, as the token acoustic leveller, preaches the power of the communal spirit, and how, with compassion we may drag ourselves out of the mire. Alongside these, there are a few causes that hardly seem worth getting wound up about. The strangely impassioned observation that kids are getting their iPhones younger these days (‘Little Bubba’), or the unclear wrankle with what many see as a highly respectable and modern haircut (‘Mullet’) somewhat underplay Lady Bird’s otherwise virtuous intentions.