Label: Island Records
Released: 31st August 2018
Rating: ★★★★
Spring King’s debut album was held together by gaffer tape as they hurtled through the city, looking for answers and trying to find something to believe in. ‘A Better Life’ starts with the same search as ‘Static’ flicks through ideas and influences before the band find everything all at once with ‘Animal’. Sleek, determined and sure of itself, it’s gritty march and relentless attack see Spring King breaking free from whatever demons haunted them in the past and looking them dead in the eye, safe in the knowledge that nothing can stop them now.
That pointed, proud, purposeful direction can be found throughout ‘A Better Life’ as the band stand up to the world that surrounds them. ‘Ready for War’ is a scratched promise, ‘The Hum’ is a call to come together while ‘Us Vs Them’ is a scuzzy coming of age, full of broken hearts and new-found resilience.
Spring King haven’t got callous though. The gang are still uneasy, still anxious, still unsure as they fret and worry about what’s happening outside. ‘Echo Chamber’ is terrified, full of haunting fear and stalking escape as the jangly ‘No More’ values action over answers, calling for that better life through escape and rising up.
Spring King’s second album is bigger, more determined and more ambitious than the scrapbook collection of their debut. It deals in brash truths and bold actions. It needs change, and the band are doing everything in their power to make that happen. Held together by one another and the promise of a better life, this is a record of unbroken promises and unwavering grit.
