BOB VYLAN 

Humble As The Sun (Ghost Theatre)

In 2023, London duo Bob Vylan had a breakthrough year, with energetic live performances and the clever, catchy callout of toxic masculinity on single He’s A Man. It features on this new LP, which extends their fusion of rock, rap and politics to moshpit-friendly effect.

Right Here would fit into a Prodigy set, as would the first half of Reign – with its mild beef concerning their not having won the Mercury Prize, a well-deserved MOBO win notwithstanding – before bleeding into a second half of bass-heavy trap. A chunky Royal Blood riff drives Get Yourself A Gun and Dream Big slashes breakbeats with punky Dead Kennedys powerchords.

Hunger Games is a danceable protest song for the zeitgeist, with well-aimed potshots at politicians, energy prices and the cost of living. Like their near-namesake 60 years ago, Bobby Vylan is a street poet for our time, who gets the praise for being electric.

words CHRIS SEAL