Album Review: Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane. by Best Friends

On their debut album, Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane., the guys in Best Friends give the impression that they're having a great time, romping through their '90s-influenced garage pop songs like happy-go-lucky good-time Charlies. Not to say that the music is silly or frivolous, just that there's a lighthearted joy at its heart that makes the album a pure delight.

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Best Friends have long perfected the art of creating music that makes a crowd bop until they’re bruised. Since they first formed four years ago, their garage punk sound has become a staple of the UK DIY scene. Stepping forwards into the limelight at last, with their debut album the fuzz four-piece are putting the ‘Hot’ next to ‘Reckless’ and ‘Totally Insane’.

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It is, believe it or not, nearly 10 years since Arctic Monkeys first broke out of playing grimy pubs around Sheffield to become bona fide worldwide megastars, selling millions of albums, playing stadiums and arenas and even having their own morally dubious tax avoidance scandal. In that decade, the Steel City hasn’t really produced any further superstars, but just recently, a nascent new scene appears to be bubbling in South Yorkshire. First, there was Drenge – two brothers from nearby Derbyshire who honed their fuzzy garage punk in and around tiny venues in Sheffield.

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You know about the big releases each week, but what about the smaller albums which may have passed underneath your radar? We’ve rounded up nine of the best new album releases from this week, from Ocar’s lo-fi pop to the glitchy electronica of Son Lux: don’t miss out..

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