Country : United Kingdom Label : Genres and styles : Post-Punk Year : 2022

Talk Show – Touch The Ground

· by Stephan Boissonneault

The first few minutes of Talk Show’s (no not the late ’90s Stone Temple Pilots co-group) sophomore EP Touch The Ground EP sounds like a depraved discotheque, one where the DJ rambles madly and loses his mind, tossing in heavy bass with some furious post-punk. This UK group has an uncanny sound to them, falling somewhere in between Shame and an all-out rave band that loves the industrial grooves of someone like The Sisters of Mercy.

You’ve got the interplay between real drums and techno 808 drums mixed with blisteringly bright guitar trills as lead singer Harrison Swann croons in his talk-sing speech announcements that sometimes feel like his throat is being ripped from his neck. It’s violent and gritty; perfect for the narcissistic tendencies of post-punk. But it’s post-punk for dancing, not just wallowing in a pit of existential dread like most bands jumping on the genre’s popularity re-emergence. On “Cold House,” for example, you can’t help but move gleefully with the whirlwind of bass, guitar, and light ’80s synth melodies.

The madness continues with “Dirt In the Keyboard,” a slower track that utilizes one of the catchier bass riffs of 2022 that refuses to leave your mind. The lyrics in this one definitely feel a very stream of consciousness, adding to the general lunacy of the track. And the gang vocals that bring the song to a close are made for chanting. “Leather,” is all about the pounding drums. I truly feel sorry for the snare because you hear it being reduced to rubble. That should really end this EP, but a weird dark ambient number, “6” does, which is fine, but not really needed.

Regardless, on Touch the Ground, Talk Show proves they’re not just a carbon copy post-punk group, but a group willing to push the envelope into nebulous yet interesting waters. I also anticipate Talk Show live to be a good and sweaty experience.

Latest 360 Content

Marlaena Moore soars during her Because You Love Everything release

Marlaena Moore soars during her Because You Love Everything release

Montréal / Nouvelles Musiques :  Ruben Zahra and Kafka’s Insect: Metamorphosis in music/video immersion

Montréal / Nouvelles Musiques : Ruben Zahra and Kafka’s Insect: Metamorphosis in music/video immersion

Le Vivier InterUniversitaire | Interpreting the Eclipse

Le Vivier InterUniversitaire | Interpreting the Eclipse

Yseult Kicks Off Her Mental Tour in Montreal

Yseult Kicks Off Her Mental Tour in Montreal

Voivod + OSM = Symphonic Metal! Michel Langevin Explains

Voivod + OSM = Symphonic Metal! Michel Langevin Explains

Voivod + OSM = Symphonic Metal! The Maestra Explains

Voivod + OSM = Symphonic Metal! The Maestra Explains

Voivod + OSM = Symphonic Metal! The Arranger Explains

Voivod + OSM = Symphonic Metal! The Arranger Explains

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music, THE dossier

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music, THE dossier

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical / Claiming a Heritage, Cousins in The Epic (1)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical / Claiming a Heritage, Cousins in The Epic (1)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / Back to Complexity, Symphonic Metal and Amplification (2)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / Back to Complexity, Symphonic Metal and Amplification (2)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / Underground Savant Music (3)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / Underground Savant Music (3)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / The Devil is in The Details (4)

Unknown Affinities Between Metal and Classical Music / The Devil is in The Details (4)

Igloofest, Saturday, January 25 / Fight the Cold With Dance, featuring Skepta (Mas Tiempo), MNSA, Dennis Ferrer, Cheba Iman and Many Others.

Igloofest, Saturday, January 25 / Fight the Cold With Dance, featuring Skepta (Mas Tiempo), MNSA, Dennis Ferrer, Cheba Iman and Many Others.

Liu Fang/Orchestre FILMharmonique/Francis Choinière – Christian Thomas : Concerto for pipa and orchestra ‘’Dragon’’

Liu Fang/Orchestre FILMharmonique/Francis Choinière – Christian Thomas : Concerto for pipa and orchestra ‘’Dragon’’

Dan Pitt Quintet – Horizontal Depths

Dan Pitt Quintet – Horizontal Depths

Denis Plante / Stéphane Tétreault – Stradivatango

Denis Plante / Stéphane Tétreault – Stradivatango

Holly Cole – Dark Moon

Holly Cole – Dark Moon

Alain Oyono: The New Saxophonist in Town!

Alain Oyono: The New Saxophonist in Town!

Montréal / New Music: Delta (s), Immersive of a Third Kind!

Montréal / New Music: Delta (s), Immersive of a Third Kind!

David Rourke – The Gambit

David Rourke – The Gambit

Reflets du temps: François Leclerc’s Account of the Cobalt Quartet’s Debut Album

Reflets du temps: François Leclerc’s Account of the Cobalt Quartet’s Debut Album

Diversity and inclusion are not punching-bags

Diversity and inclusion are not punching-bags

FKA twigs – Eusexua

FKA twigs – Eusexua

Montreal / New music: The Sound of Ink… And 3 Flutes

Montreal / New music: The Sound of Ink… And 3 Flutes

Subscribe to our newsletter