There is a lot of productive ways to spend a pandemic lockdown:
1. Grow your own windowsill herb garden
2. Watch all the seasons of Law & Order and make note of how many episodes pass the Bechdel test (spoiler alert: it’s two).
3. Make an album with your mates.
Ok, calling 1 and 2 “productive” is a bit of a stretch, but making an album most definitely qualifies and that’s just what these boys from Glasgow have done with Just A Spell of Feeling Nothing.
“The Beginning Has No End” eases us wordlessly into a dream state with swirling guitars courtesy of David McNeil and Bernie McGrath before “Erosion” sends us plummeting back to consciousness. It’s this kind of dichotomy that’s the album’s core strength. Take “One More Throw” for example. A foreboding tantric number held fast by drummer Matt O’Donnell and bassist Kev Argue that also happens to be the prime showcase of vocalist Dave Shedden that hauntingly fades into “Struggle” - a title that belies the life-affirming club stomper within that’s sure to be stuck in your head for days on end.
What Southpaw does with Just A Spell of Feeling Nothing is encapsulate what we’ve all been feeling over the last 18 months. Both the dark and the light. The hopelessness and the hope.
This and other Southpaw music can be found on all streaming sites.
