The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

'Ursula', the Itch's sprawling 7-minute debut single, has been out for over two years. So what have the Luton duo been doing since then? Well, making one of the best debuts we've heard in a very long time, for one.

Bouncing between the pounding dance punk of 'Space in The Cab', the hauntingly glacial 'Drugdealer' and the cowbell-driven rap-rock of 'No More Sprechgesang', this is an album which refuses to adhere to outdated genre boundaries. The Itch aren't alone in pushing at the edges of their sound, but they're one of only a few bands who manage to do so without losing the cohesion of the album as a whole. Singer Simon Tyrie's whip-smart pessimism and sideswipes at the state of the world are a running theme, while the synth-driven instrumentals are never allowed to wander off into self-indulgence. 

You get the feeling that the two years since 'Ursula' have seen The Itch shift to focusing on their live show, with 'It's The Hope That Kills You' benefitting from a discipline in sound and an obsession with danceable melodies which will have you desperate to see them perform in a sweaty club at 1am.

Despite this, there's a palpable unease across the album. 'Can't Afford This' grapples with the cost-of-living crisis before seeing Simon retreat from the hopelessness and into a world where "I can dance, I can bury my head in the sand". Likewise, 'Pirate Studios' ruminates on the hollowing out of Britain's nightlife and 'Never Change' hits on a more general note of melancholy, contemplating ageing in a world which never stands still, aided by a poetic interlude from guest vocalist Hayley Bromell.

In the hands of a lesser group, these subjects would lead to a pretty depressing ride, but The Itch manage to stare over the precipice without ever jumping off. At its heart, this is an album made for dancing and letting go of reality, with the bleakness of the outside world only heightening the desire to embrace the hedonism of gigs and nightclubs. As Simon says on 'Ursula', "The light don't mean all that much to those who don't know dark."