Future Of The Left – How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident

Future of the Left are great. Their distinguished brand of visceral punk, anger-infused lyrics and sardonic wit is unmatched. They’ve carved for themselves a niche in British rock consciousness that has them standing alone – both musically and thematically. Few frontmen are as charismatic as Andy “Falco” Falkous, and certainly even fewer match the ferociousness of their on-stage persona when off it as well as him.

And yet, as he rants – as the infamously angry (not so) young man does – in ‘Singing of the Bonesaws’, there’s something missing. “You have confused excitement”, he shouts, “with the fear of missing out”. Sure, FOTL’s protagonist is as pissed off with ‘The Industry’ as ever, but throughout much of the 14-track beast that is ‘How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident’, there doesn’t feel to be quite enough venom seeping through. Even the heavier-sounding riffs of ‘Future Child Embarrassment Matrix’ can’t help but sound a little tempered. It’s almost a bit… clean?