Pyncher: Get Along
(Self Released)
Out Now
Industry shenanigans have recently deprived us of Pyncher’s recorded material, but with Get Along, the Manchester quartet are back with one hell of a bang.
There’s always been something a little off-kilter about Pyncher. Four apparently personable individuals come together to produce a vibe which could best be described as pleasantly disturbing, and Get Along captures this sometimes dark yet always wildly entertaining mood perfectly. Anyone who has had the pleasure of catching one of the band’s recent extraordinary live performances will already be familiar with the driven intensity of the track, but the inventive production lends the studio version even more of an edge.
The first few seconds hint deceptively at a dub reggae sound before jagged, insistent guitar kicks in and charismatic singer Sam Blakeley hits us with his distinctive sardonic vocal, here slightly distorted to add an extra layer of unease. Lyrically, the song works on several levels. On the surface, it can be a simple feeling of loss following a break-up or falling out, as suggested by the haunting chorus, ‘I wanna get along, wanna get along like we used to, wanna get along, why can’t we get along like we did before?’. However, in typical Pyncher style, you sense there’s a bit more going on, with the impression of a personal disconnection mirroring a more profound feeling of general alienation, maybe reminiscent in mood of Magazine’s paranoid Shot By Both Sides;
‘All these people are talking their minds,
So what’s the point in me talking mine,
I could have left long ago,
I’ve been the wrong way up now too long.’
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The band describe the track as; ‘A blend of personal reflection and social insight… an anthem for those searching for their place in an ever-changing world.’ While this sounds like a perfectly down-to-earth explanation, the middle 8 feels distinctly sinister – make that unhinged, before the urgently plaintive final renditions of the chorus leave us wondering quite what has just happened.
Although Sam provides the intriguing lyrical content and attention-grabbing vocals, the entire band somehow buys into the same unique perspective, with Harvey O’Toole’s imaginatively economical guitar and the splendid rhythm section of Britt Dewhurst on bass and Jack Rainbow’s drums combining to create a spellbinding whole greater than the sum of the admirable parts. If you’ve not experienced a Pyncher show before, beg, steal or borrow a ticket to catch them at Manchester Gullivers on 25th February – and if you have, you won’t need asking twice.
Pyncher Linktree
All words by Robin Boardman. More writing from Robin for Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive
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- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
