Popular Manipulations is the latest epic chapter in the evolution of The Districts and, looking back on the Pennsylvanian foursome’s back catalogue, there were always glimmers of these cathartic sonic explorations. Whilst A Flourish and a Spoil was pretty much recorded completely live, this record is instead much more of a studio album in the sense that the four-piece weren’t playing gigs much at all while writing and were very focused on demoing and making sure the recordings held up as a different product than the live show.

This LP feels like the group spent much more time arranging and trying to perfect the sounds, whilst still retaining their defining energy, with the lyrical content slightly more mature and dealing with themes of isolation, loneliness and dependency.

In the studio, the band was assisted by producer John Congleton as well as engineer Keith Abrams and the distinctly intense sound of Popular Manipulations – charging guitars, thunderous drumming and frontman Rob Grote’s searing vocals – was brought on by a few cited influences; from shoegaze’s aggressive swirl to the Velvet Underground’s impeccable drone-rock sound. But that’s not to say it lacks originality, this album has positioned the band in a path entirely their own.

In its essence, it’s life-affirming rock music, bursting with energy that cuts through the darkness of existence: “We’re a much better distillation of who we wish to be as a band,” said Grote in a recent interview. “We’ve figured out how to distil the things we’ve been trying to accomplish as a band, musically and lyrically. We’ve always viewed making music as something we’re trying to do better the whole time.”

Throughout the record, Grote sings in a wide vocal range, which is formed under the backdrop of a swirl of heavy psychedelic-rock for many of the arrangements, which are always invigorating and build towards an epic soundscape, with several of the tracks starting out quietly until they are ramped up – ‘Salt’ being a perfect example of this.

'Violet', meanwhile, involves a swirling, propulsive drum framework, which acts as the perfect catalyst to the intense lyricisms, which reference intimacy, sex, dependency, and how they're used manipulatively. While ‘If Before I Wake’ captures a dreamy droney vibe and is possibly the finest song they’ve ever produced.

‘Capable’ displays more restraint, whilst lead single ‘Ordinary Day’ finds Grote singing in falsetto for the poignant chorus, as the song gradually grows into a sweltering force. The arrangements on ‘Airplane,’ and ‘Why Would I Wanna Be’ then validate a level of craftsmanship the group have always threatened with, before ‘Will You Please Be Quiet Please?’ brings proceedings to a climatic finale.

The Districts possess the ability to make anything sound epic when they play live and they’ve now managed to recreate it on record, with their forward-thinking signatures turning this album into one large hotbed of euphoria. Popular Manipulations is an epic set of songs made by a young band whose ability has now matched ambition.

Paul Hill

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