Here's the thing... Sports Team have obliterated all expectations with their incredible debut LP, Deep Down Happy. The English indie rock outfit have continued to excel since their inception a few years ago. With their two EP's they continued to prove themselves to the adoring fans they had garnered with their brutally honest interviews and undeniably catchy tunes.
Now, here in a pandemic ravaged 2020 and after a few delays Sports Team have unleashed their debut album on the world. Unfortunately, we've already heard most of it making it suffer from the fabled 'Debut Album Curse' - with only 3 of the tracks being completely new on the first listen it's hard to give the album a fair crack of the whip. Luckily, the songs that we've already heard are absolutely majestic.
A personal favourite on the album is the stomping 'Going Soft', which could make even the biggest prude want to launch into the moshpit. Frontman, Alex Rice, spits and seeths about the old rock head mentality of only listening to old bands and hoping your CD doesn't skip (Kind of ironic when I'm listening to the record on vinyl). 'Here's The Thing' is Parklife for Generation Z and the new and updated version of 'Camel Crew' really does shine on the record with crisper vocals and more in line guitar melodies.
Ultimately, the album succeeds in proving that there are still great guitar bands out there and that music can sometimes just be fun and make you want to dance and jump around whilst simultaneously pushing a point across. A stellar debut from the London band.
8/10