Mush - 3D Routine

"I take my coffee with existential dread," squawks Dan Hyndman at one point, nicely wrapping up what it means to be a human being in checks notes 2020. One thing is for sure, with themes of angst, critiquing meal deal variations of just fighting to survive in a low-paid, no-hours gig economy, the debut record from Leeds-based Mush couldn't feel more perfectly timed.

Dripping with the same British eccentricities that have powered the likes of Feet and Squid out of a crowded field of more traditional indie-pop revivalists, '3D Routine' is a record that just can't sit still. Whether it is getting its groove on in the opening 'Revising My Fee', or noodling down jazzy avenues on the title track, it always manages to dance just out of reach before it can be defined. There's a hint of a particularly grouchy Graham Coxon in Tyson's guitaring at points, a familiarly filthy buzz searing through the likes of 'No Signal In The Paddock'.

Sure, Hyndman's distinctive vocals might prove to be divisive, and at times it's hard to know what the hell's going on. But even at its loosest, the album maintains its sense of fun and mischief, always somehow snapping back into some kind of focus before it collapses entirely into chaos. As loose of limb as it is of lip, Mush have added some new layers to already familiar influences and come up with something tasty of their own accord.

Jamie MacMillan