Cruel Britannia

Before pressing play on the Chapman Family's Cruel Britannia, it's worth noting the timing of its release. Great Britain in 2012 was celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics had reinvigorated the public's patriotism. But as Stockton-on-Tees-born Kingsley Chapman solemnly states "You're red, white, black and blue" over a mountain of guitars on the title track, one can't help but feel he's not buying into the kind of optimism many Brits get from waving their miniature flag down the Mall. And there is plenty more where that came from on this five-track follow-up to 2011's Burn Your Town, like on "This English Life," where Kingsley displays his ability to successfully apply a wistful tone to unrelenting post-punk noise as he convinces listeners that "This English life is falling apart." The vocals often snap into a desperate scream, but only when necessary, as the balance between logical thought and simple vitriol is tipped. Cruel Britannia is big step up thematically from Burn Your Town, and is in many ways a spiritual follow-up to the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen." It's one of the loudest things you're likely to hear, but there is room for plenty of dynamics, adding drama to what is a bleak, albeit catchy, landscape. For a finale, the band covers Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday," which is as bold a statement as a British guitar band could possibly wish to make. For the first time, the music is stripped back, adding breathing space and a sense of gravitas as listeners are told "This is the coastal town that they forgot to close down/Come Armageddon, come." Hopefully it will sound as thrilling as this when it does.