Today’s new band purvey a breed of socially aware intensity with guitars. They are arguably one of the best new groups to come from the south coast of the UK. Even better, for a change, they’re from Portsmouth rather than Brighton which seems to be the usual case of things.
Hallan are for fans of The Murder Capital and Shame. That is to say their music growls with a monstrous amount of atmosphere and punkish strut. The fact that the two songs they have on Spotify at the moment are released through a label called Scum Sludge probably says it all. Previous tune Habit bites with outsider observation: “Eyes roll when I enter this establishment, and I feel the gaze of a dozen loyal locals filled with rage, a dozen loyal locals who can’t stand change. When I went down to the loo, all I saw were three young adults, snorting lines off each other’s legs and bashing ceramic tiles on their heads.” Then Hallan ramp things up, repeating a line over and over. “Does your mum know about your habit?” Expect frenzied moshing to this.
New single Yesterday (With Him) released last Friday is even better. It spits with slow-burning menace from shadowy corners. In an age where the rules of pop say that every song needs to be a Spotify friendly 3 minutes long and go for the hook from the off, Hallan put two fingers up to that, clocking in at a gloriously full 5 minutes and 5 seconds. Like Habit there are more examinations on life that seem to come from the pub: “She’s almost as loud as you. Oh my god she’s spilled vomit on her one-hundred-pound tracksuit.” The lyrics are delivered in snarling disdain, with lead vocalist Conor commenting on the uselessness of modern society: “I don’t care what mascara you use from Boots. I don’t care if you watch Ru Paul’s Drag Race.’ It’s all rather f*cking brilliant. Put this on, turn it up loud and annoy your neighbours.
Hallan - Yesterday (With Him)
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