Following a six-year hiatus duelling Yorkshire duo Skint & Demoralised are back on the scene with a score to
settle. Their forthcoming fourth album ‘We Are Humans’ presents a raw political and poetic tour de force
against the backdrop of Brexit Britain.
A drastic departure from Skint & Demoralised’s original late ‘00s ditties detailing teenage love affairs ‘We Are
Humans’ instead reflects the subsequent decade of desperate austerity as well as the European refugee crisis
just 22 miles from Britain’s shores. Frontman and spoken word artist Matt Abbott volunteered twice at the
Calais Jungle in 2016 – either side of the EU referendum in which his native city voted 66% Leave.
Alongside Matt songwriter and producer David Gledhill known more recently for his SOULS project channels a
raucous poet-punk energy with sonic influences ranging from ‘Sandinista’ to The Strokes. Snappy sassy singles
‘Boro Kitchen 4am’ and ‘#RefugeesWelcome’ have received regular airplay on BBC Radio 6Music but in the
midst of the energetic observations about immigrants and inequality there is also intense elegant pathos
epitomised by stunning album closer ‘Superheroes’.
Since Skint & Demoralised’s first Myspaceage outing Abbott has established himself as a nationally acclaimed
poet and likewise Gledhill as a producer – already the combination is curious. Add the searingly eloquent
political commentary to the mix and it becomes an urgent and vital snapshot of these tumultuous times that
engulf us all wrapped up in fist-pumping unapologetic and utterly essential alternative anthems.