Alpha Male Tea Party – Health (2017)

Alpha Male Tea Party have developed a uniquely identifiable sound that stands out amidst the sea of derivative bands we are hearing these days. Their songs have both a meaty weight and blasting energy, as well as a strong sense of melody and an ever-flowing structure. Basically, they play loud, beautifully nasty, groovy hooks, with some nice breathing room in between.

Following up their previous album, Droids, was no easy feat, but they smashed it. Whilst maintaining their characteristic feel-good, and often facetious, approach, Health sees the band gently shifting to a more serious, thoughtful and mature sound; guitarist Tom Peters‘ furthered experience as a recording engineer is evident. He has also been garnering some well deserved attention for his guitarmanship and gear literacy, and a lot of his signature cranky squeals are back to punch you straight in the face, whilst drummer Greg Chapman, understated but incredibly precise, makes every hit count along with the heavy bass stabs and sweet licks from bassist Ben Griffiths that help sustain the glorious momentum of every track.

The opening track, ‘Have You Ever Seen Milk’, starts with an ethereal intro, some rocking out, then followed by a string of crunchy riffs and, three minutes in, it’s clear you are in for an epic journey. The next track, ‘Ballerina’, hits even harder, with a furiously dissonant energy, showcasing their capacity to tackle technically complex music without getting too messy.

The whole album is jam-packed with head-bangers, dream sequences and catchy, singalong melodies that are a welcome addition to all those memorised from previous tunes. I’m already humming them in my day-to-day (there’s this one bit in ‘Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am?’ that I can’t get out of my head). Go fill your ears and you can to.