Desperate Journalist – No Hero Review

Post-punk charms are available in every major city across the UK. What keeps the likes of Desperate Journalist going is their standout sound and intensity on stage. Their latest album, No Hero, continues the growing expectations levelled at a band with a decade of experience. Their sound stays bold and broadly convincing, and a tremendous run of form is continued by a furthering of their artsy lyrical choices. It can be heard in the opening moments of Adah and stays to the convincing ends of Consolation Prize. Their jangle roots and punk consistencies are the perfect blend for this, their fifth album and a spectacle worth listening to. Jo Bevan is given the wider scope to prove the band as a unique force, and what an opportunity No Hero is.  

Taken well by Desperate Journalist, their cool and collected sound benefits well from the small flourishes. Little flickers of electronic interest poured over the lyrical intensity of the title track is just one of ten powerhouse moments. Within those rising instrumentals and the God-knocking terrors of the real world is a hope for relief, there is an optimism present in those usually moody grooves and guitar riffs. Bevan and the band muster a new detail to their sound, a confidence kicks through this piece, as it did with their earlier works, but here it feels tethered to the blistering realisations made by a band seeing the shells which were once their inspirations. We inspire ourselves, ultimately, when we realise those who got us to where we are cannot do any more for us. Perceiving them as shells in the human hell, as No Hero does, is as mature as it gets for the band still picking away at a unique, soft punk style.  

Passion and honesty do not often go hand in hand but for Afraid, the tactile uses of fear and isolation are enough to mount a spirited and genuine comment on protection from darker storms. No Hero is an album which does not shy away from presenting its honest flourishes as demanding. Being even with someone is no easy feat, as the band finds in later tracks like Comfort. A smooth, synth-like overhaul of their sound and an acceptance of where to find comfort. No Hero has a swaggering appeal to it yet remains grounded in the emotional highs which matter most of all. Silent has the obvious connotations of its tranquil method, aided well by the jangling guitar throughout and contrasted even better by the strong Bevan lyrics. These songs may be their best yet.  

New powers in their instrumental and vocal range yet a familiarity for those who listened to Live at J.T. Soar. No Hero has a daringness to it, a sense of adventure encapsulated by the mixing choices and thunderous range on Underwater, the album’s standout track. Desperate Journalist have found themselves with a dark, almost terrifying album filled with all the heart expected of a Bevan-written song. Bursting through with a well-deserved, confident flourish to their sound, Desperate Journalist finds itself evolving as a group, reliant on the usual instrumental suspects but not afraid to lean on electronic whirrs, and fadeouts where hope should be found, and as a result, it moves the band onto those effective next steps. No Hero is packed full of their best works, their finest writings and an overwhelming kick against the past. Reflection is no friend of the band and in their memories they find, on pieces like 7, something worth railing against.