By Hannah Reid
Millie Manders and The Shutup are a band that hails from Norwich/London and ‘Telling Truths, Breaking Lies’ is their self-released debut album, which is highly charged, political and full of energy that is just contagious and makes you want to move and dance around as you listen. They are a punky band at heart, but they’re not scared of combining pop, metal, hip-hop and some ska into the mix to keep the listeners on their toes.
The album opener ‘Your Story’ gets right into it and sets the bar for what you’re going to hear. The punchy vocals that come out along with the instruments and capture your attention immediately, full of just raw emotion and with lyrics you feel like you can relate to. ‘Broken Record’ is heavier than the one before it, adding in some unexpected saxophone which was a pleasant surprise and had me dancing around in my seat as I was listening. It’s been a while since I had a song that had me excited to hear more of what was coming and wanting to dance along to it. My personal favourite song on the album just for the sheer amount of feel-good vibes I got from listening along to it.
‘Here We go Again (Black Dog)’ has the kind of beat and pacing of a great punk song that will have you raving along to it – it’s another one which is just full of fun to listen to, and that’s definitely the feel I’m getting from the album as a whole. Another different vibe and take on a song, ‘Silent Screams’ comes in with a whole other energy which includes singer Millie doing little rap bits with her own twist on them, while still having elements of pop going through the song. It wasn’t something I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. The lyrics so far up to this point have been spot on and just something that I have really vibed along with.
‘Bitter’ starts off with a beat which I was sure I’d heard somewhere before, but I really enjoyed – and once again the lyrics didn’t disappoint as they came out hard, fast and full of energy. Probably not shockingly to those reading this, but ‘Poor Mans Show’ was another song that took me by surprise as it started off with a bit of a reggae feel but still maintaining a strong pop-attitude as it went. ‘Panic’ is a protest song about the environment which combines a serious topic through the lyrics but has fun musical elements coming through, adding to this with some more sax which just makes it a fun song (about serious topics, but fun nonetheless).
Slowing things down on the album we have ‘Glitter Mix’, and this is one of those songs where I think the band stand out and all the talent they have comes shining through and highlighting them. Everything about it is totally mesmerising: a rock ballad which contains everything you could possibly want, from the powerful vocals, the buildup and the piano. It’s a song that you have to turn up and listen to absolutely everything going on within it – you just don’t want to miss anything that’s going on.
Going from that slightly slower song, we’re straight back into those rocky dance tunes with ‘Not Okay’, which is another fun little track which keeps up the energy and makes you want to spin and dance around the room. The final track in the album is called ‘Burnout’ which seems to tell a story as you listen along to it. Like every other track on the album, the tune and lyrics just hit different and are so catchy that you want to learn the words and sing along.
Everything this band gave throughout their debut album is something that makes me excited for what more they can do: the whole way through they were consistent with the passion, energy and emotion they were throwing through my headphones. They’re the type of band that you can’t even pinpoint into where exactly they would fit in and who exactly they sound like because they’ve covered all their bases – they know what they like, how they want to sound, how they want to create it and they’ve gone out and done it and made it a kick-ass debut.
- ‘Telling Truths, Breaking Lies’ is out now. You can get your copy, and loads of other Millie Manders goodies, HERE. A percentage of sales will go to various charities, including The Survivors Trust, Mind, Papyrus and NHS Charities Together.
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