After some high profile support slots in 2018 which included The Skids and Dave Wakeling’s Beat Watford four-pieceThe Spitfires release their latest album ‘Year Zero’. Opening cut ‘Remains The Same’ resonates with early Jam spirit and an upbeat and quintessentially bullish British Beat. A well-timed horn section adds a beautiful, slow it down speed it up edge. ‘Frontline’ kicks off with a Libertine-indie-esque riff and the song raises ghosts of bands past and then buries them once more, they’re not needed. A piano intro pushes ‘Over, Over and Over Again’ into the early morning commercial light and lyrically it’s mature without being holier than thou.
The pace slows for the Ska infused ‘Something Worth Fighting For’ while a reflective ‘By My Side’ includes some well delivered dual male/female vocals and a hauntingly simple ivory tinkling backbone. ‘Move On’ reflects our divided nation with an unnerving Clash/Strummer heartbeat. The spat out, cold’s a coming vocals of Billy Sullivan are as close to the Modfather as ever heard and this is in no way a criticism, it’s a stunning singing style. Both ‘Sick Of Hanging Around’ and ‘The New Age’ are clenched fist anthems for a new generation of Fred/Ben wearing (there’s a beauty in the past,) music worshipers. Title track ‘Year Zero’ crosses both Dub and Ska’s path before album closer ‘Dreamland’ is a personal ghost town of a track. The Spitfires have produced an absolute corker of an album and along with other British bands such as Buster Shuffle and The Bar Stool Preachers, they can help lead a blinkered, social media obsessed generation into the musical light.
‘Year Zero’ is out on July 27th via Hatch Records. The band head out on a nationwide British tour in October, for a full list of dates and band info check their Facebook page.
THE SPITFIRES
YEAR ZERO
Hatch records
8.5/10