Drug Church - Hygiene

Four albums and a decade in, Drug Church are no green-gilled newcomers - and yet ‘Hygiene’, their latest full-length, holds none of the weary resignation that eventually grabs hold of so many other bands. If anything, it’s the sound of a band more engaged than ever before.

Immediate and easy to love, but never so smooth it becomes anodyne or ineffective, ‘Super Saturated’ sounds like a classic in its own lifetime, gigantic riff bouncing off the walls like a rubber ball. From ‘Detective Lieutenant’, and its refrain of “we don’t toss away what we love”, to the gloriously titled punk rock blast of ‘Piss & Quiet’, ‘Hygiene’ is an album that both demands attention and respect - but better than that, it’s a hell of a ride.