A five pack of proper radge rippers, Irked‘s debut release is just called EP. No fat, all five songs on one side of a 12″ on the dependably great Wrong Speed Records, who have a golden opportunity here to live up to their name by leaving the rpm off the label. Made up of North East punks with pasts in a number of other bands, for those of us elsewhere this is kind of the first chance to see what they’re about. Pay attention because this is killer. There’s an album in the works and I cannot wait for a chance to see them live because they’re clearly going to be the sort of band that melts my face into an idiot grin of joy.
‘Snakes’ starts with wailing feedback and scattered drums, gathered together by the bass before the guitars and vocals come at you, teeth bared, lunging and tearing. It jerks and rages, at times thrillingly weird and discordant between blasts of heart racing punk rock. Irked don’t have time for plodding chug, it’s fast and furious. Driven by a pounding rhythm section, the guitars leap from tight wound riffs to wild squall around Hels’ fierce vocals. If there’s any justice the fun dynamics of ‘Crippling Empath’ will be causing moshpit mayhem up and down the country before Christmas.
As you might infer from their name Irked have some things they want to get off their chest. Single ‘Backstreets’ deals with the shitty behaviour of shitty men. The clenched jaw tension of the start making way for a mealy mouthed circle of excuses before the song tightens and accelerates becoming even more adrenalised and manic as it reaches the end. Razor sharp.
The rage is real but there’s humour too. My pick of the bunch is ‘Lanzarote’ which has a great lyric twisting together 90s family holidays and the increasingly grim political picture in the UK. All leading to a trip to Alicante, pig-gate, and the conclusion “that was just a warm-up”. Even given the recent course correction in our government there’s something oddly reassuring about its chorus chant of “The worst is still coming!” The worst thing about this record is going to be the fact there’s nothing on the other side. Get it.
