The Bobby Lees - New Self

While usually used to refer to records that have taken on a combination of weighty and timely matters (or, let’s be honest, when the artist has expressed so repeatedly to the point it’s just been accepted as fact), ‘New Self’ is a record that, well, needed to exist.


Firstly, over just eight tracks, the group’s ferocious - and, crucially, fun - punk rock bursts forth fully; it’s the metaphorical volcano that needed to erupt (or the less grandiose equivalent: the catharsis that follows a grumbling spot having done the same). Then, there’s the not insignificant fact that back in 2023, the group announced they’d be going on hiatus, citing the financial pressures of being in a band of their size, only to later be contacted by Hollywood superstar Jason Momoa offering to finance a new record. Written in the stars, perhaps?


Of course, this context isn’t necessary to the record itself, even if it does give a little heft to the decision to keep it short and (almost) sweet, its brevity offering an even greater intent to the already conviction-fuelled vocals of Sam Quartin. Bearing a passing resemblance to the powerhouse voice of Rage Against The Machine’s Zack De La Rocha on more than a few occasions, with smatterings of Beastie Boys (the gloriously riffy title track - itself sitting somewhere between their ‘Sabotage’ and Rage classic ‘Sleep Now In The Fire’), Jack White (the bluesy ‘Napoleon’) and IDLES’ Joe Talbot (‘50 Ft’), she’d be able to give emotional heft to a shopping list, should she wish - and do so while remaining entirely believable.


But it’s not the sheer force alone that compels ‘New Self’ to feel so entirely necessary; it’s that all the New Yorkers’ punk bluster is imbued with a sense of fun. Take the line “I’ll tell you my name / F U C K” delivery on ‘50 Ft’, which comes beaten only by the wordplay on closer ‘Red Hot’, which adds a carnivalesque turn to boilerplate punk rock musically, while offering this: “I should know better / I should behave / You’ve got a girlfriend / And me, well I’ve been made / Made a wife now / Made a slave / Made a baby and I’ve given it your name.” So ‘out, damned spot’ - to paraphrase some quite famous literature badly - ‘New Self’ is some prime short, sharp catharsis.