Fables - Hells Mouth

There’s something instantly endearing about ‘Hells Mouth’ by Fables. With a purposeful vocal, earnestly chirping away like a happier Morrissey, it’s hard not to feel an element of nostalgia; it seems like a lost song from the early days of The Futureheads.

At times it feels as though the backing is slightly lethargic, falling behind and never wanting to change its simple stabbing guitars underneath insistent well crafted lyrics, sounding like a lazier version of The Rakes. ‘When we hit that windswept shore it took away what friends we had left’ is oddly earnest and troubled. ‘Hells Mouth’ swings from an entrancing, poignant chorus to a lad rock break, where each utterance is responded to with a strangely out of place cry of “yeah!”

The only downfall of ‘Hells Mouth’ is the repetitiveness of it, and at times its lack of direction. In some ways, it seems that Fables can’t quite decide what they want to be and when they have, it’s as though they’ve missed the boat. That’s not to say it’s a bad song, it’s a catchy, neatly crafted track that leaves you with a welcome feeling of nostalgia.