Blending post-punk, post-funk, and disco, Regressive Left‘s debut EP, On the Wrong Side of History, is four tracks of witty lyrics, bumping beats, and a bit of happy chaos that was recorded in five marathon days (11am to 1am recording sessions) during pandemic shutdown.
“I’m on the wrong side of history,” sings vocalist and electronics whiz Simon Tyrie as dance-punk beats build up behind him. He sings about being “desensitized to the taste of real life.” We all know that’s an easy trap to fall into, but Georgia Hardy‘s beats encourage us to climb out of it and dance with joy at our success in doing so. Tyrie asks those in power to take an honest look in the mirror and to carefully choose a side (“You’ve been ignoring the voices of others for far too long.”). “I don’t want to become a meme!” he and Hardy cry. “I only talk about free speech when it concerns my freedom to be a dick,” Tyrie continues, mocking the shouts of so many who mock those who just want to be heard. The whole song, and the whole EP, is full of scathing, sharp lyrics like this.
Will Crosby‘s guitars skitter and slide all over the place on “World on Fire,” and Tyrie’s vocals take on a bit of a David Byrne tinge as he takes shots at the failures of Reaganomics, rich elitists (“The world for a trust fund!”), and the economic system in general. “Bad Faith” teams them up with Mandy, Indiana to tackle the trend of people to automatically assume the worst in people, or that their statements are automatically wrong – mostly thanks to the internet. The EP closes with “No More Fun,” a song originally about how school kids in the UK were underfed at lunch but has since grown into a finger in the eye of British politicians grinding some people into the ground with policies that help no one but themselves.
It’s a wicked EP, and one that promises a lot of good things in the future. Let’s hope Regressive Left don’t wait long to bring us a whole album.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to James at Prescription PR.]
