From the first few lines of the opening anti-gentrification title track it was clear I was going to love this record and it just gets better the more you listen to it. My first time round was in the car and it was played three times in a row. I know little about the band, the CD came with no information and the band all have paper bags on their heads in the cover photo and as we listened on that drive we were second guessing who the band actually were. The singer has a quality to his voice that reminded me of Suggs out of Madness and I wrongly assumed that this was perhaps a side project of his.

There’s elements from lost of bands I loved as a teenager back in the eighties; The Jam, the aforementioned Madness, Half Man Half Biscuit, the Pogues…you get the drift and the title track is so catchy I defy anyone not to have it going round their head for days after listening to it!

I’m guessing the lyricist and perhaps the rest of the band are around the same age as me, perhaps a little older given some of the references made in some of the songs. The closing tune What In A Moment …”in 76 I discovered Sniffing Glue”… “’79 Live At The Wicth Trials” is a case in point.

Shakey Shakey is an absolute corker of a tune that tells of a teenage friendship buggered up by half of the partnership getting together with a female of the species…but there’s a twist in the tale. And that’s a big part of the appeal of Attack Of The Luxury Flats: Songs that are immediately recognisable with a fantastic sing along down the pub appeal, but with clever lyrics and foot stomping tunes to match.

These are “pop” songs with edge and hark back to a time before the charts were dominated by the flaccid crap that gets wheeled out these days and I cannot recommend it enough.

By far and away the best thing I’ve heard this year and whilst I could spout on about how much I love this record I suggest you read no further and get yourself over to the bands bandcamp page, give it a listen and get it bought immediately!

I’m gonna have to buy another copy as I’ve misplaced mine !

Mum’s gone to Iceland, So bleeding what!

Stuart Smith