The Post-Brexit Musicscape
If you’ve been to a hipster party in the past couple months, a guy smoking a rolled cigarette has probably dropped the term “post-Brexit core”... But what exactly does it mean?
Matthew Perpetua of NPR coined the term in May of 2021, observing a new wave of British and Irish rock bands who have adopted an idiosyncratic style of genre-bending instrumentals, accompanied by confessional talk-singing vocals. He states, “Whatever is happening, it's hard to ignore.” Many of these bands formed around 2018, a period of extreme tumult as the British parliament began the process of exiting the EU. Now, in 2022, this very group of bands are on track for mainstream success. The rise of “post-Brexit” music expresses general cultural sentiments. After all, the past few years have been an especially humiliating period for the UK, with absurd elections, ludicrous leaders, and a incompetent COVID-19 response causing major discontent amongst the population. Especially for the younger generations, who feel out of control of the political and social situations of their nation, this has resulted in a cultural retaliation. “Post-Brexit” music is a reflection of the laughable state of affairs, resulting in a distinct musical style characterised by satire, experimentation, and nonconformity. Let’s look at some of the bands leading this new wave of music.
Dry Cleaning
Rolling Stone described South London four-piece Dry Cleaning as “redacted conversations intercepted from a time-slip adjacent from our own mundane reality.” Dry Cleanings 2021 debut album Her New Long Leg is like stepping into David Lynch’s recreation of an underground alternative bar, with lead singer Florence Shaw as the tragic songstress. The band’s sound has clean, catchy bass lines (courtesy of Lewis Maynard) rivalling that of New Order’s Peter Hook, endlessly danceable drum rhythms (Nick Buxton), sonorous guitars (Tom Dowse) inspired by 80s/90s noise rock, and Shaw’s sensual, hypnotising lilt. Dry Cleaning feels nostalgic, like a revival of our parent’s music, with a novel, contemporary twist. Likewise, Shaw’s cryptic lyrics evoke a similar sense of familiar unfamiliarity. She uses words as their own malleable device, constantly reaching and rearranging like language is a painting. “Strong Feelings'' evokes familiar yet distant imagery, as Shaw alludes to various famous artworks featured in the British museum, yet her depiction of them dissociates the artwork from itself. Her lyrics border on parody, yet are delivered deadpan: “Just an emo dead stuff collector, things come to the brain / I spent £17 on mushrooms for you.” The song conveys a sense of disillusionment, finding comfort in material objects and artwork yet unable to fully feel sentient.
For a noise rock band, it is surprising how static the frontman is. In the music video for “Scratchyard Lanyard,” Shaw’s face is literally the stage. She stands immobilised, her entire face occupying a miniature remake of a theatre, as the camera zooms out to reveal Shaw standing at the centre, as the band plays around her basked in bleak, grey lighting. The lyrics allow for brief images to passー knitting circles, ceramic shoes, bouncy balls, oven chips, bananas, a woman with aviators firing a bazookaー depicting a sense of midsummer domesticity with images of absurdity interspersed throughout. “Scratch Yard” appears to tell the tale of a maladjusted family, pieced together by fleeting symbols of nostalgia. This is exemplified when Shaw repeats the song’s chorus: “Do everything and feel nothing.” The song reflects a sentiment of discontentment, using music as a vehicle to express the feeling of feeling trapped, in the same vein as when Ian Curtis of Joy Division scream-sings: “Got the spirit, lose the feeling.” Dry Cleaner’s music feels like necromancy, a mesmerising manipulation of the unearthed and undead.
Fontaines D.C.
Fontaines takes the D.C. in their name from “Dublin City.” After meeting at music school in Dublin, the group bonded over their love for poetryー taking inspiration from overseas poets like the Beats as well as home-grown talent like James Joyce, Brendan Behan, and W.B. Yeatsー hence earning the nickname of “punk-poets”. Lead singer Grian Chatten sings, rather yells, his lyrics in a distinct North Dublin drawl, creating a performance that feels somewhere between a soap box speech, a poetry slam, and a pub brawl. Like “Chequeless Reckless,” a song which unravels itself in maxims: “A sellout is someone who becomes a hypocrite in the name of money, “An idiot is someone who lets their education do all of their thinking,” Money is the sandpit of the soul,” and “What's really going on?” (this final line is repeated for about 40 seconds.) The track itself is interspersed with punk-inspired guitar riffs and energetic drum breaks, perfectly complimenting Chatten’s vocals.
The band’s two albums, Dogrel and A Hero’s Death, are loaded with sentiments of liberation, frustrations at inequality, and vivid depictions of Dublin akin to that of Joyce’s Ulysses. The dedicated following of Fontaines D.C., especially in Ireland, shows a rise in social consciousness and a shift in national identity. As bassist Connor Deegan remarks, “There’s a renewed sense of pride in being Irish.” The explosion of Fontaines D.C. comes at a time when many in the nation are wondering if Brexit will potentially tighten borders between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, reigniting a history of tumult and violence. Fontaines D.C., in the tradition of many Irish artistic predecessors, is a roaring rouse to action, using noise as an outlet to ease national anxieties. For now, the band continues to rise in popularity, with an album set to release in April and an upcoming world tour.
Squid
Squid’s music is a writhing Frankenstein’s monster. The five membersー Ollie Judge, Louis Borlase, Anton Pearson, Laurie Nankivell, and Arthur Leadbetterー are all multi-instrumentalists, who write their own parts then bring them together in order to create disjointed yet harmonious musical arrangements. Their debut album Bright Green Sky, released in 2021, reckons with identity amid an increasingly hostile and uncanny world. The album opens with “Resolution Square,” an instrumental featuring indistinguishable industrial noises, familiarising us with the world of Squid. From there, we jump immediately into “G.S.K.,” a tumbling ride through a dystopian “concrete island” ruled by an omnipotent pharmaceutical company. The track was inspired by a bus ride from Bristol to London the day the U.K. was supposed to withdraw from the E.U., with singer and drummer Ollie Judge reflecting on the bleakness of modern urban England. Judge sings, “As the sun sets on the GlaxoKline / Well, it's the only way that I can tell the time,” creating a landscape that has strayed so far from the natural world that it relies on modern corporate figureheads.
The characters of Bright Green Sky reckon with their own place in society. “Narrator,” depicts a duet between Judge playing an unreliable narrator (“Losing my flow and my memories are so unnatural / I am my own narrator”) and Martha Skye Murphy, who continually calls him out and begs to be included (Let me plead / Let me know”). While the song begins with juxtaposition between Judge’s eccentric shouting and Murphy’s breathy vocals, the song eventually dissolves into madness, as the two yell at the top of their lungs “I’ll play my part.” The song is a depiction of the shallow fulfilment of self-delusion, a modern retelling of Pygmalion and Galatea. The music video shows this boundary between fantasy and reality, having the band perform in a digitally-replicated natural setting that deforms into a black-and-white horrorscape.
Squid’s music explores the fading boundary between identity, technology, and reality, creating a fantasy that perfectly reflects the anxieties of this epoch. While their music can be seen as a portrait of society, it also presents a personal reckoningー an ecstatic, cacophonous coming-of-age tale. Squid is a band to look out for, with an upcoming UK and USA tour.
Yard Act
Damon Albarn retold English suburban bliss in Parklife and Jarvis Cocker chronicled the hedonistic youth culture of the 90s in His N’ Hers, meanwhile James Smith, lead singer of Yard Act, continues the tradition of narrating the absurdity of mundane British life. Yard Act blends the humorous self-awareness of Britpop with gothic nihilism, with Ryan Needham (bass), Sam Shjipstone (guitar), and Jay Russell (drums) creating their captivating sound which blends post-punk with pop sensibilities.
Their debut album The Overload, released on January 21, 2022, creates a series of character studies. “Tall Poppies” tells the story of a local football star who stays in his home village and continues a meaningless life. The song ends with a mocking yet solemn eulogy, singing “there are more handsome men and better footballers out there in Greater Manchester / They would've cut him down to size if they could've, but what good would that do? / He bloomed and he grew and grew, and still he was doomed / Same as me, same as you.” Meanwhile, “Fixer Upper,” takes on the persona of a neighbour introducing himself, continuously passing judgements on who “belongs” in his neighbourhood, (“Dr J. Konopinski, do you know him? / Sounds a bit Russian to me... Oh! Polish, I see,) while refusing to acknowledge his own role as a gentrifier (“I'm not from round here, but I am / Also they won't take cash in hand”). Their titular single is from the perspective of a disgruntled old man, who looks down on the younger generations and their weaknesses. The colourful and repetitive chorus, reminiscent of a new wave song, chants: “The overload of discontent / The constant burden of making sense.” Yard Act creates memorable parodies, luring you in with the premise of catchiness to reveal deeper and darker realities behind their caricatures. Following the success of their new album, one can expect much from this band, with major hype surrounding their next releases and an upcoming tour in Europe.
Courting
Courting is another band leading the post-brexit Britpop revival, creating energetic anthems that are at once timeless yet deeply imbued in the present day. The four-piece consists of Sean Murphy-O’Neill on guitar/vocals/cowbell, Sean Thomas on drums/vocals, Michael Downs on guitar, and Sam Brennan on bassー with many of the members still attending university and yet to have turned 20. While they come from Liverpool, Courting carries a distinct Twitter presence, regularly engaging in hilarious ‘shitposting’ and starting beef with everyone from Daft Punk to Ian Brown of the Stone Roses. Courting’s lyrics, much like their online persona, are rich with Internet references and public-callouts. In “Popshop!,” the band references everything from Keith Haring to luxury resort company Pontins to Belle Delphine (infamous for selling her own bath water online) to Ed Sheeran. The song is a comedic meditation on the music industry and its commodification of talent, with frontman Murphy acting as the eccentric, sharp-witted narrator. The lead single from their most recent EP, “Grand National” portrays a mindset of complacency amongst privileged individuals, Murphy singing: “Wе all gather on our artificial lawns / Discussing chemtrails and the problems at our schools,” addressing the tendency to intellectualise global problems instead of taking action. The chorus of the song makes a cheeky reference to 100gec’s “stupid horse,” another song about the mindlessness and depravity of capitalism.
Cheerful, clever, and undoubtedly cultured; Courting is an inimitable band. It seems that magic might be on their side, with many of the figures they publicly name experiencing their own misfortune soon after. Kanye West’s divorce with Kim Kardashian was announced soon after he was name dropped in Courting’s single “Crass,” Daft Punk broke up soon after Courting began their Twitter beef, and Pontins was embroiled in an anti-Irish policy scandal after they were mentioned in “Popshop!” There appears to be a “Curse of Courting” afoot, one which will surely get them far.
Shame
shame has undergone a massive transformation in their past five years of music-making. Their early music sounds like music made by a group of outcast school boys who happened to really love The Fallー which, in fairness, is exactly what they were. Compare their early track “One Rizla,” a adolescent bemoan of unrequited love that was literally written in a textbook, to “Nigel Hitter,” a song much more cryptic in its meaning. There’s also a sonic evolution of the band, going from punk ballads to funk and jazz influenced bops. shame’s discography documents the band’s lives throughout adolescence, painting a portrait of growing up during this period of time.
Drunk Tank Pink, the band’s latest album, is named after a shade of pink which supposedly has a calming effect. In making the album, singer Charlie Steen and guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith literally isolated themselves in a rose-coloured living space/studio which they named, “The Womb.” Shame’s isolation came after a rambunctious world tour, allowing the band to reflect on their rise to fame. The opening track to the album “Alphabet” addresses their brush with stardom and the anxiety of performing in front of a crowd “Now what you see is what you get… Are you waiting / To feel good?” While Drunk Tank Pink is chock-full of shame’s expected humour, there are also moments of sombre introspection. “Station Wagon” is arguably the album’s most ambitious song, a transient track where Steen reenacts a tale of Biblical ascension. The song begins simply enough, with a laid-back and folksy depiction of driving along a highway as Steen expresses dissatisfaction and the need for a “new solution.” The song builds in intensity as Steen finds this solution, narrating himself ascending into the sky. He remarks, “Happiness is only a habit and if that's true / Then I am habitually dependent on something I cannot control.” “Station Wagon,” deliberates with the struggle for happiness, depicting a cautionary tale that even good things can turn sour quickly. Many other songs on the album deal with loneliness and depression, like “Snow Day” (“I live deep within myself / Just like everyone else”) and “Water in the Well” (“And which way is heaven, sir? We all got lost somehow / I tried to find myself but I lost the map and now I'm all burnt out”.) Drunk Tank Pink navigates self-actualization, in a time of extreme turmoil and isolation.
Black Country, New Road
With six (formerly seven) members, most of whom are classically trained in music, Black Country, New Road sounds more like a symphony than a gang of musicians in their early twenties. Their 2021 debut album, For the first time, is ambitious, sweeping, and orchestral. “Sunglasses” is arguably the apex of the album. At an impressive eight minutes, the song continuously builds to new emotional peaks; feeling like a never-ending MDMA come up. Singer and drummer Isaac Wood details an existential monologue, his quivering voice crescendoing to a tormented wail.The song feels like a cleansing, a dip into the capitalist River Nyx, as Wood repeats: “And I am so ignorant now, with all that I have learnt,” reflecting emptiness that despite the provision of material comforts. Much like the futility of materialism, the instrumentals slow down and dissolve into chaos. The next part of the song is tense and rhythmic, reminiscent of Slint’s Spiderland. Wood whimpers a series of self-assuagements, telling himself he is “invincible in these sunglasses.” The final climax of the song features Wood yelling, “I am more than adequate,” telling the listener to leave Kanye and his Daddy’s job out of itー reassuring himself of his capability. “Sunglasses” revels in insecurity and discomfort. On the Apple music commentary, Wood said the song was literally inspired by Wood’s realisation that he felt more confident wearing sunglasses in publicー still, while sunglasses may provide momentary ease, they are ultimately a flimsy and unsustainable solution.
Dependence on material objectsー such as sunglasses or mobile phonesー in order to navigate a troubling world is a theme that recurs throughout the band’s music; such as in the sombre “Bread Song,” from their latest album Ants from Up There. The song is serene, with soft guitar plucking, gentle violin, and Wood’s voice at a whisper; though the song builds with cinematic intensity, like the swelling of an elegy. The song tells the tale of a faltering romantic relationship taking place online, where the narrator blames the unreliability of technology instead of the failures of the relationship. The song merges the line between the real and the digital, “[N]o-one had WiFi inside your apartment / So we knelt at your altar,” reckoning with the capabilities to be limited when you are separated by a digital wall. “Bread Song”’s namesake emerges with the images of crumbs left in the narrator’s bed, which he doesn’t notice until his lover is long gone.
Black Country, New Road provides commentary on existing in the 21st century, reenacting their personal relationships with the outside world. Their depictions of modern living are theatrical and imbued with humour. In “Track X” where Wood asks himself, “"Why don't you sing with an English accent?" to which he responds, “Well, I guess it's too late to change it now,” and in “Science Fair” where they call themselves the “world’s second best Slint tribute act.” Beyond the absurdity, there is an intimate emotional core. Black Country, New Road’s confessional musical productions are representative of Gen Z to laugh at our own anxieties, and turn our insecurities into resonant artwork. The band now finds itself at a crossroads, having just released a new album but also facing the departure of Isaac Woodー leaving plenty up in the air for Black, Country, New Road. (It seems the band will be embarking on a “new road” soon.)
Black Midi
black midi has been making major waves in the music industry since they released Schlagenheim in 2019. Most of the songs on Schlagenheim function as the inverse of typical radio popー filled with walls of noise, atypical verse structures, and enough ascending fourths to bring Syd Barrett back from the deadー nevertheless they are endlessly catchy. While black midi looks like they are straight out of secondary school, they carry the prowess and talent of rock n’ roll legends. Morgan Stimson is a tornado on drums, bassist Cameron “Shanko'' Picton acts as a swinging anchor, and singer and guitarist Geordie Greep adopts a mesmerising persona somewhere between Richard Hell and a Bugs Bunny.
black midi’s music is a study in chaos and control. Take “bmbmbm,” the band’s breakthrough single and is the seventh track on Schlagenheim. The song plays the same chord over and over again, as Greep repeats “she moves with a purpose” dozens of times, each time with a new cartoonish intonation. The song centres itself with Greep’s fixation on one woman, mimicking the thought patterns of an obsessed person. “bmbmbm” gradually builds in volume, as the drones in the background suddenly become clashes and screams and the drumming builds until it reaches crashing point. It is a song that is at once stagnant yet volatile, like searing boiling water. Another standout track is “John L,” the lead single for their album Cavalcade, which tells the tale of a procession for the ruler John the 50th. The cacophonous song is truncated by brief moments of silence, like the band is being stifled by an omnipresent conductor. The song's battle between noise and silence creates a dichotomy between black and white, much like how the “pale brunettes” depicted in the song turn on John the 50th as fast as they were wooed. “Slow,” is another example of the band’s masterful technical skills, where the music speeds up and builds in tension as Greep narrates the thoughts of an idle character awaiting demise (Slowly falls, slowly dies / Slowly it crumbles right under my eyes.) black midi’s surreal, psychedelic, and sonically-complex songs are delectable riddles; refreshing anti-anthems that reflect the puzzling and discordant time we are living in.
It’s easy to see why bands like black midi (and the many aforementioned) have received such acclaim. Not only are they good at their instruments, well-versed in a variety of genres, and capable of producing unique music; but they are humble, and seem more concerned with having fun while making music than achieving fame. It’s worth remembering that the majority of these bands are music nerds who were born at the turn of the millenia, which is reflected in their digital presencesー such as Greep’s cryptic “vibestreams,” where he starts Instagram lives at odd hours of the night in order to show fans his favourite memes, jam with other black midi band members or Black Country, New Road, and converse about day-to-day life. Not to mention the meme communities surrounding these bands, with accounts like @blackmidienjoyer and @satanandthemarychain finding humour in post-Brexit music. There is a keen sense of digital awareness with these bands, as shown through their lyrics, public images, and fanbases. After all, these are Gen Z bands for a Gen Z audience.
While many of the post-Brexit bands draw from alternative rock bands of the distant past, they reinvent these musical traditions with a renewed sense of artistry; melding genres and imbuing their lyrics with a contemporary gaze. The post-Brexit music wave indicates a turning point in pop culture and history. The past two years, we’ve been living in “troubling times,” with no end to them in sight. As a generation, we’ve learned to endure that feeling of ceaseless dread. Instead of succumbing, many youth have learned to poke fun at societal anxieties through noisy and idiosyncratic music. I think that post-Brexit music is a social response to, what has been for many, a suffocating and overwhelming time in our lives. As studios and shows open up again, we will be looking for bigger and brighter gigs, a departure from the sadcore that dominated the late 10s. While these bands may be the sort fit for dancefloors and mosh pits, they are nevertheless nihilistic and socially awareー reflecting a consciousness that stays at the forefront for these artists. Post-Brexit music is sarcastic, sardonic, yet surprisingly genuine; showing that, in 2022, it is still possible for rock bands to push music to new extremes and make social waves. Most of all, it’s just really fucking good.