The newest addition to the post-punk scene is a Brighton-based act called PoliteBuro. The band have meshed together a dark wave of alt-rock with an electronic sound to create their debut single, MiddleChild.
From the intro, MiddleChild has an unnerving feel to it, with the skittering of heavy drums fused together with a bass that stomps through the song. The vocals are flawlessly entwined around the hollow-sounding guitar riffs echoing post-punk pioneers like The Cure and Siouxsie And The Banshees. There is an air of melancholia, but it slowly intensifies into a looping wall of synths, ultimately leading into a disordered, ominous and chaotic crescendo of noise that wouldn’t feel out of place on the Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible.
With boundless, edgy energy, PoliteBuro’s debut is a compelling beginning. The tone, sound, and dynamics that they have created with MiddleChild is definitely worth a listen and hopefully a sign of things to come.
