Album Review: Fair Do’s – Leopards

Fair Do‘s are from Manchester in the North West of the UK, their name is testament to their roots in that region of the UK, the band’s frontman, Danny Cummings, is also part of the DIY collective, Anarchistic Undertones, and is involved in the promotion of the punk and hardcore scene in the city, including the legendary Manchester Punk Festival. Fair Do’s are now set to unleash their debut full length, Leopards, via Lockjaw Records on the 27th July, the album follows on from the band’s debut EP, 2014’s Trying Times, that was released via Bird Attack Records.

The opening track, Royal Flush, lulls you into a sense of false security before it bursts into life with the band’s trademark technical melodic hardcore with a call for social equality, a call that is delivered in the band’s distinctly northern style. Leopards is an album that can pass you by in a blur, their debut full length’s breakneck technical, almost metallic in places, brand of hardcore is a non stop assault that is punctuated by brutal breakdowns and breakneck riffs. Fair Do’s build up a head of steam across the ten tracks that populate Leopards, including the brief hardcore blast of Candleman, as they head towards the finale that comes in the shape of the album’s finest, and final, moment, Carried Away, that is the perfect snapshot of this Mancunican quartet.

Leopards is an album of in your face political melodic hardcore that is guaranteed to appeal to fans of Strung Out, Propagandhi and Death by Stereo. Fair Do’s have released a debut album that leaves you in a state of shock and awe, the technical elements of their sound are at times jaw dropping but this is coupled with the rage and political focus of hardcore to produce an impressive and long overdue debut full length, Fair Do’s debut full length may have been a long time coming but it’s been worth the wait.

Leopards can be pre-ordered via Lockjaw Records here