“Give the people what they want, no questions!”
Damn right.
Shut up 2026. It’s all over. we are unpeople is my album of the year, and it’s put a bloody big smile on my face.
It’s been a while since I have been so excited about a new band. I happened upon the band unpeople with their first EP last year and I had the chance to photograph and review them at this year’s COPENHELLin Copenhagen where they showed off some impressive live musical chops and stage presence. So impressed with that and the recent singles, I went to their website and got the signed vinyl release that arrived precisely the same day as release date. While I had access to an early presser for this review it was nice to wrap it up in style on the old turntable.
So why has this topped my list of the year and put unpeople to the top of my favorite “new band” category?
I love bands that cannot be pigeonholed, that cannot easily be defined, (hello System of a Down) that have clear influences and mix them in ways that make me want to pick up a guitar again. Parts of this album are very heavy, the riffs crush, breakdowns galore, wrapped up in a 90s alternative and post grunge pop sensibility.
It’s that pop sensibility that makes it such a fun listen. At moments I get a Blur Parklife vibe such as at the start of swallow and in the next song bottle, it swings from some heavy as hell riffs to an almost Weezer like vibe in the chorus. All this is backed up with some really clever songwriting. There is some meat on the bones here and the dichotomy of a fun riff or chorus can anchor lyrics that deal with some heavy subject matter.
The song waste is a fun banger anthem with crunchy riffs and has perhaps some of my favorite lyrics in recent years. “Shoot yourself in the foot with the starting gun // Good going // Running a race that you know just can’t be won”.
Vocalist Jake Crawfordhas some impressive vocal range. Guitarist Luke Caley has some serious chops (his solo on blueprints is an old school doozy reminiscent of many a 90s rock anthem); drummer Richard Rayner really slaps hard (and continues the long tradition of ripped shirtless drum heroes) and backing all this up is bassist Em Lodge (the bassline for the garden oozes a dirty groove that you can feel in your kidneys)
While Crawford takes main vocal duties, everyone in this band contributes to the vocals and it’s something that really sets them apart from anything I have heard lately. The harmonies and massive chorus on the album closer as you were are as good a stadium anthem as you are likely to hear all year
So, what can I nitpick? Well, several of the songs are from their original EP and it would have been nice for even more new songs, but they are such bona fide bangers and future arena crowd pleasers that it’s a weak critique.
I am not going to go through each song, beat for beat; you should discover that for yourself. But honestly, there is not a skippable song on this album
I very much look forward to not only listening to this album to death and seeing the band live again, but also seeing where they go from here, because if they are not the next big breakout guitar band, then I will eat my hat.
“I am unpeople”
