Album Review: The Spitfires – Year Zero

Watford based quartet The Spitfires are set to release their third album, Year Zero, on the 27th July via Hatch Records, the album documents their ongoing battle for recognition as a loud and proud working-class voice. Year Zero follows on from their previous albums, 2015’s Response and 2016’s A Thousand Times, both of which established their credentials as a politically charged grass roots outfit that won’t wait for permission to take their music, and their message, across the country and into the heartlands of the crumbling towns and inner city communities that their music emerged from.

Remains The Same kicks with a two tone influenced blast that is fired up by a blue collar fury at the political status quo, Frontline shifts things up a gear and retains the political anger that becomes the albums central theme. Year Zero has it’s poppier moments that dip into mainstream indie rock, such as Over And Over Again and the slow burning By My Side, that co-exist with an undercurrent of reggae and dub with tracks such as Something Worth Fighting For, Move On, Dreamland and the album’s dub drenched title track. These sit alongside a brace of power pop and new wave influenced working class anthems, Sick Of Hanging Around and the upbeat The New Age, my personal favourite from Year Zero.

There are obvious comparisons to bands whose albums I stole from my older brother’s record collection including The Jam, The Jags and The Specials, whilst The Spitfires are obviously inspired by those bands they have embedded those influences in their sound and bought it bang up to date with an album of album of working class anthems. The album’s poppier moments detract a little from the album for me, but they give Year Zero a broader appeal beyond The Spitfires punk and ska roots, and you can’t really fault them for trying to spread their message further afield.

Year Zero can be pre-ordered on CD, vinyl and digital formats via The Spitfires website here