History has taught us that some of the best music stems out of times of struggle. Exile on Main Street is one example, with The Rolling Stones having to move to France as tax exiles. Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak emotional core was there for all to see, whilst The Beatles famously weren’t the best of friends for their latter releases. Meanwhile, Blood on the Tracks is seen as one of Bob Dylan’s finest works and the songs were all linked to tensions in his personal life, including estrangement from his then-wife Sara. 

Microshift had a more tangible problem relating to it, with Hookworms having to completely rebuild the band’s Suburban Home Studio after the River Aire floods in Leeds in the winter of 2015, which devastated the premises. A GoFundMe campaign and the subsequent help of volunteers over several months helped to rebuild the studio and the band’s continued existence. On top of this, visa issues led to the last minute cancellation of a US tour. Endeavouring through the hard times, it is no surprise that the LP’s subject matter contains a great deal of defiance and darkness. “All of our records are to an extent about mental health,” comments frontman MJ. “Largely this is an album about loss but also about maturing, accepting your flaws and the transience of intimacy.”

The result is the Leeds band’s first new work in more than three years and it marks a seismic shift in their sound, dynamic, songwriting and production with what could be considered their most complete record. Although it still bears all the Hookworms hallmarks – aggressive energy, elaborate musicianship and delicate songcraft – it marks an immersive progression for the five-piece in which the studio rather than the live set-up acts as the central body to its creation.

Formed out of delicately layered loops, modular synthesizer sequences, drum machines, homemade samples, the group have also opened their writing to include collaborations with artists such as Richard Formby (on ‘Opener’), Christopher Duffin (on ‘Boxing Day’) and Alice Merida Richards (on ‘Each Time We Pass’).

Lead single and album opener ‘Negative Space’ sounds like a melancholic New Order, with its alert machine beats and a catchy danceable melody which coexist with what is a common theme of Microshift – MJ’s new found passionate vocals: “Who can I trust/now you’re not breathing?” he screams.

‘Static Resistance’, meanwhile, is more of a classic Hookworms track which features classic krautrock propulsion and bass-driven effects. Whilst the seven-minute ‘Ullswater’ is a monster which holds the record together and wouldn’t be out of place on a DJ set. The same for goes for the eight-and-a-half-minute epic ‘Opener’, which is possibly the album’s high-point as the synths, drums and guitars dance around each other in beautiful harmony.

The emotional core of ‘The Soft Season’ soon follows and sees the band at their rawest. ‘Boxing Day’ then name checks the day in 2015 when the River Aire’s banks broke and it’s a self-contained two-minute cathartic release of anger. For the final two tracks, ‘Reunion’ is the calm before the storm of the catchy six-minute stomper of ‘Shortcomings’, which ends proceedings in fine fashion.

When a band steps back into the fray after a few years out people can get worried of what their reincarnation has in store. Thankfully MJ, MB, JW, JN & EO have made their magnum opus in Microshift. The introduction of more electronic elements and melodies has brought out a whole new side in what is Hookworms’ finest record.

Paul Hill

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