Grubby Mitts - Love in the Misanthropocene

The album shifts curiously between genres, mixing optimism and pessimism in an often perilous state of equilibrium.

With Freddy Lomas (Kinn/Kanye West/Mark Leckey) brought in to add a mixture of cinematic and disruptive production, the LP is both their bleakest yet most pop-orientated record so far. Elements of the compositional techniques recognisable from the first album remain: repetition of aphoristic lines are set against multiple rhythms and shifting emotional registers, oscillating between resignation and triumphant declaration contributed by the band’s permanent horn section.

The Grubby Mitts have coined the portmanteau, ‘misanthropocene’, a combination of ‘Anthropocene’ and ‘misanthrope’, to define the current moment: an age of discontent as the world moves into an environmental crisis. The songs utilise the formula of often joyful, melodic pop whilst simultaneously drawing on the history of avant-guard techniques, creating poignant songs which tread a fine line between sentiment and experimentation.