Mr Speed share summer-ready debut single ‘Sweet Sweet Rot’. Emerging alive and kicking from the ashes of Gag Salon, Mr Speed find joy in the lackadaisical on a debut made to make you smile.
Recorded and produced by Cecil Bartlett (PJ Harvey, Ed O’Brien, Warpaint), the four piece leave behind the theatrical and angular tendencies of their former work in favour of a throwback style that manages to feel classic without slipping into reiteration. The angular guitars and discordant jabs have been replaced by acoustic twangs and thick Britpop chords singing in harmony, topped off with a hook demanding to be whistled on your jaunt to a beer garden at it’s way too early-o’clock in the afternoon.
It’s a move that amplifies the inherent strengths of all involved, where the songcraft that has always been apparent is now given its rightful place centre stage. Swinging guitars kick things off with a descent down the scale before settling into a summer stroll of a groove, underpinning frontman Joseph Mumford’s tongue in cheek eulogising about the pleasures of a life spent in the slow lane. It takes a deft touch to make proclamations such as “if it smells like someone died here, someone probably died here” sound joyful, yet Mr Speed do so with aplomb on their ode to sloth that makes you want to jump out of bed and enjoy the beautiful day.
It’s impossible not to feel good with ‘Sweet Sweet Rot’ in your ears, made to be heard whilst dark fruits drunk at one of the UK’s premier boutique festivals. Listen at your own peril; you’ll be whistling this one for weeks.
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