Firstly, the album cover: is it a burned photograph? Is it a stain? Is it a Loveless tribute? Possibly. While the image is super ambiguous, there’s no definitely maybe about the fact that Legroom by London-based Leeds duo The Mad Mile is in the realm of shoegaze. As well as guitar pedals, they’re fond of “rye humour”. But what we really want to know is: are their songs the cream of the crop?
First track and first single ‘Wendy Houses’ begins with ethereal piano, which is joined by a chugging chord progression that leans more towards moody Britpop than ear-bursting fx fuzz. “Rain clouds gather overhead / To the Wendy house or shed / Now we are but stuck here / Soaking with resentment” – lyrics delivered with the snark of Mark E Smith. A screeching, spidery riff acts as a middle eight before the final iteration of a chorus that you’ll want to sing at a festival while wearing a cagoule.
The vocals on ‘Smiths’ float in and out like ghosts in a cellar, and the whole track could be described as Ride soundtracking a detective thriller. On ‘The Plates, The Candles, The Wine’, released a couple of weeks ago as the fourth single from the album, synths undergird post-punk revivalist riffery. Doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity – so said Einstein. However, he would have much kinder things to say about ‘Einstein Birdbath’ if he was still with us, as it gleefully and sensibly recycles and renews the overcast angularity of post-punk once more.
Adam Pickering and Matthew Goodbody – AKA The Mad Mile – used to be in a math rock band called General Admin, and their musical precision is especially evident two thirds into ‘Winter Bloom’. ‘Oblong’ starts with distorted guitars that sound like torrential rain and the rest of the track can be categorised as brooding Metallica, accentuated by a creeping zombie melody. Perhaps ‘Be My Elevator’ could be re-named ‘Pastime Parasite’, if only because of the lyrics: “I just don’t want to put the effort in to make it through / So, I’ll just hang on your coat tails like I always do.” The track seethes like a commuter at Euston Station staring at a cancellation notice, their muscles taut by futility. ‘Second Tier’ reminded me a little of criminally underrated late shoegazers Engineers, and the vocal phrasing on the chorus is like a chilled out Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke.
‘Usable Advice’ mentions the advice to ‘breathe in’, yet the track is so spiky and jittery, you’ll be out of breath by the time it’s finished. My advice would be to listen to it on repeat. The bass throughout the first half of ‘Confidence Plus One’ comes as watery as the one on ‘Come As You Are’, and in the second half guitars howl like mournful and attention-seeking lemmings. In the band’s own words, album closer ‘The Narrow Arch’ pokes fun at ‘the enshittification of services’, though the track itself sounds as fun as moving a jpeg in a Word document. If it was math rock, it would be Annoyed Division.
Most of us like a good joke, services that work, and experimental guitar bands. You can add Legroom to that list. So, extend thy legs and reach for thy wallet – it makes perfect mathematical sense.
Legroom is out now via Bandcamp
The Mad Mile: Bandcamp | Instagram
Review by Neil Laurenson
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List