Mush retain their social consciousness on Down Tools

Strewing their output with lingeringly addictive riffs and punchy transitions, the Memphis Industries-signees once more tie the mechanics of both on Down Tools. Returning to record with Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart (Yard Act and Easy Life) at local haunt Greenmount Studios, the five-piece are in an act of figurative downtime with their third full-length affair. The satire remains, rising through familiar jutting guitar segments albeit with less barbed lyrical volleys. “Get On Yer Soapbox” follows in this vein, figuring more as an invitation to stand up and be counted, while explicit critique can be found in the form of “Northern Safari” – homing in on the manipulated vision of Northern England often portrayed. Such cuts subside to a slackened state of play, living up to the album title’s invocation but with enough moments of discord to disrupt any illusion of business as usual, as mirrored in its amorphous final minute.

It’s perhaps predictable to pigeonhole Mush exclusively under the post-punk moniker. Choppy genre-dabbling is in full flow, with indie influences retaining a standout presence via tracks such as “Dense Traffic”, coasting through Pavement-veering moments, while “Group of Death” has its origins as an alternative World Cup anthem, strung along in roundabout rhythmic fashion. Paired with his principal songwriter role, Dan Hyndman directs his vocals with the synchronicity that has been a constant – adapting as much to the noise-rock of “Ground Swell” as to the cow punk-esque stroll of “Human Resources”. “Inkblot and the Wedge” adds further to this, graduating from ‘90s guitar shreds to quickfire hooks via downtempo thrums, seeing the five-piece as switchable as ever.

Retaining a societal consciousness, Down Tools is not so much a party record but one that surveys the damage after a storm, picking up the pieces with an increasing dose of humour as well as world weariness.