Other Half - ‘Dark Agesim’ review
Other Half
Earlier today, our favourite Norwich-based rabble-rousing trio, Other Half, dropped their new album Dark Ageism via Big Scary Monsters. Not only does the album complete a trilogy with their previous releases—2020’s Big Twenty (Venn Records) and 2022’s Soft Action (Big Scary Monsters)—but it also finds the band at their best and most quintessentially "Other Half." Over its 12 tracks and 41-minute runtime, Dark Ageism portrays the band and their characters grappling with the reality of being in their 30s while clinging to teenage habits. It delves into their personal dark age, where the only constants are the rising cost of a pint and the mounting cosmic debt from years of reckless living.
The band has once again reunited with their very own "fourth Beatle" producer, Owen Turner, who worked with them on their previous two releases. Musically, the album captures Other Half at their most harmonically captivating, blending their signature smash-yr-nose-in punk intensity with broader, more expansive sonic landscapes, creating a sound that is distinctly Other Half. Dark Ageism showcases a band that remains true to themselves, proving that they aren't just recycling old sounds but doubling down on what makes them unique. The album features a number of tracks with spoken word parts, clearly influenced by bands like Pavement. Alongside Pavement, the band listened to a lot of Cleaners From Venus and Blur, and you can hear the significant influence of Graham Coxon’s guitar playing on albums like 13 on Cal's own guitar work in Dark Ageism.
Opening the album is lead single “Lifted Fingers,” where Cal’s Coxon influence is in full force. This twisting, dark, gangly, pop-fused track sets the perfect tone for the album. Lyrically, it emphasises the importance of preserving the sweaty, dark, damp corners of our cities that haven’t yet been overtaken by soulless corporate beige. These are the places where we’ve all found ourselves, packed tightly into a dark space, rubbing shoulders and sweating against strangers as we take in a punk show. The track also features a lyrical callback to their debut, Big Twenty. Fittingly, for a track soaked in 90s influences, Other Half recruited Nada Surf vocalist/guitarist Matthew Caws to lend his voice to the spoken word outro. If we weren’t already convinced that we’re being treated to one of the year’s best albums, the track’s outro leaves no doubt.
Second track, “Strange Loop,” is classic gritty, punky, shouty Other Half. Sophie’s driving bassline shines throughout this two-minute slice of the band's signature sound. It’s the kind of track that transports you to a tiny, dark venue, dripping with sweat as the crowd goes nuts around you and you sink to the back, too scared to embrace those around you, feeling the fraud that you are—oh, that last part might just be myself, but you get the point.
After “Strange Loop,” we are treated to two more tracks showcasing Other Half at their punky best: “Sucked It Sore” and “Lowlifes & Lower.” These are the kind of tracks that no other band can pull off as well as Other Half. I love this band.
Something often overlooked with bands like Other Half is just how good they are as musicians. Noisy DIY punk bands rarely enter the conversation when discussing the best musicians out there, but honestly, I can't think of anyone better right now than the band’s very own Alfie. His drumming shines on these tracks, and if you’ve ever watched the band live, you can’t deny how great he is.
Next, we are treated to “Feeling For Yourself,” the album's longest track—though it’s only one second longer than the closer. On this track, Sophie takes the lead, delivering a killer spoken word vocal line while laying down some of her smoothest and most sultry bass work. The track has a Sonic Youth feel at times, with elements that would fit right at home in a post-rock piece. Lyrically, the protagonist is detached from their past life and working-class upbringing, unable to find a sense of belonging in the place they call home. They yearn to escape to the bright lights but feel trapped. The slow, droning, brooding nature of the track enhances the sense of hopelessness projected by the lyrics.
Around the halfway point of Dark Ageism, we find the album’s second single, “Farm Games.” When we shared the news of the single, I channelled my best circa 2009 Drowned in Sound writing voice and described the track as “exploring themes of youth and escapism with a mature, reflective edge,” which, in the band's own words, “is a very lofty way of describing a song about wet dreams and Farmville.” It’s a gritty and angular track that goes hard live. The “Regress like you mean it” hook is something that many people can relate to—a point when we should be mature and sensible, yet we revert to an even messier, more disorganised version of our younger selves.
The album’s second half hits hard and kicks off with the epically sleazy “Bumps In The Night,” which feels much longer than its under 3-minute runtime in the best way possible. Then we get two more slabs of classic Other Half: “Dollar Sign Eyes” and “Rotator.”
Next, it’s time for my favourite track on the record, “A Little Less Than Evil.” Musically, it’s schizophrenic, jumping between all the sounds that make Other Half great. One minute it’s gritty and angular, the next it’s hard, fast, in-your-face punk, complete with a hardcore-esque screamed outro that showcases the true power of Sophie’s vocals. Lyrically, it’s a track close to the album’s central themes, with its protagonists clearly still caught in their own personal dark age.
The penultimate track, “Pastoral Existence,” was the final single released before the album dropped. It’s influenced by the feature-length movie episodes of TV shows where everything relocates to the countryside, but instead of people getting up to hilarious (or, well, not so hilarious in most cases) high jinks, you get a drug-fuelled daydream where some of the most unsavoury of Other Half’s characters move to the sticks and delve further into the nasty, depraved side of things. As someone who grew up in and returned to the country, I can tell you for certain that most of Other Half’s characters would fit right in. The English countryside might seem like a chocolate-box ideal, but if you look a little closer, you will see that shrooms grow wild, ketamine use is rife and there is not much else to do other than smash stuff up. To be honest, the crime rate is only low here because the police are ineffectual and no one can be arsed anymore.
Closing the album is another spoken word-heavy track and the second to feature a guest vocalist—this time it’s Johnny Foreigner’s Alexei Berrow. Fittingly, the track has a title that would feel right at home on a JoFo album: “Other Half Vs. The End of Everything.” As a massive fan of both bands, this track is a dream come true. Frankly, Alexei is the perfect foil for Cal, and if it weren’t for the greatness of “A Little Less Than Evil,” this would clearly be my favourite on the album. I am very fortunate to have been able to speak to both Cal and Alexei about the track over the past couple of months. And yes, Alexei’s spoken word part could be seen as a little scandalous, with what appears to be a real-life account of someone he knows committing insurance fraud by burning down a venue they own. Elsewhere, the track pulls down the final curtain on the band's trilogy of albums, with a few throwbacks to complete bangers from Other Half’s first two albums, including “Tiny Head” and “Slab Thick.”
With Dark Ageism, Other Half have not only perfectly completed their trilogy of albums that started with 2020’s Big Twenty but have also created one of this year’s best releases. The album exemplifies everything that Other Half have made their own, from the dark, angular, and brooding to the fast, spiteful, and gritty. No Other Half record has sounded more like Other Half than this, quite frankly it’s perfect and proves time and again why they are one of the most captivating acts out there right now.
Dark Ageism from Other Half is out now via Big Scary Monsters and available on all good streaming platforms. Catch Other Half on tour this summer with Single Mothers and at the 2000 Trees Festival.
