Back when we first featured Allum around the release of her Absent EP the overriding feeling was an artist making bleak, mostly folk, music. The record was a brilliant snapshot of a burgeoning talent, but seeing Allum live at The Great Escape in May last year hinted at even bigger, louder things. And they've arrived in the form of "Rich Backgrounds".
A ragged, electric anthem railing against the entitled and the hollow of mind, "Rich Backgrounds" is an exhilarating and cathartic experience. Allum's wonderful drawled vocal is still present, dripping with sarcasm and bite (the chorus goes "rich backgrounds / your rich fucking backgrounds") and it finds a perfect home amid loose riffs and heroic soloing. A slacker anthem of sorts but also a rallying cry, Allum is heading into thrilling territory ahead of her next EP.
