The Mysterines - Afraid of Tomorrows (Album Review)
Friday, 28 June 2024
Written by Matthew McLister
Photo: Steve Gullick
In 2022, The Mysterines had one of those years. The Liverpool rockers scored a top 10 album with their anthemic debut ‘Reeling’, while there was also the small matter of an opening slot on Arctic Monkeys’ The Car tour. A couple of years on, ‘Afraid Of Tomorrows’ is a more creative and well-rounded return that, crucially, can continue their precipitous rise.
Produced by John Congleton in LA, the quartet’s latest ventures deeper into the dark corners of singer Lia Metcalfe’s mind. Less immediate than their debut, ‘Afraid of Tomorrows’ is intimate while maintaining their typical rock boisterousness.
This balance is typified by the soaring opener The Last Dance, which finishes on Metcalfe’s demented whispers: “Unholy kind of accidents / Happen when / The puppet cuts the string.”
Elsewhere, the singles Stray and Sink Ya Teeth reveal a band that hasn’t forgotten to regularly dial in the punchy attitude of their debut.
After a frenetic start, The Mysterines then decide to push the boat out sonically. The ethereal Another Another Another is a seductive highpoint full of emotive lyrics (“You make the raindrops cry / Cry, cry, cry.”) while Tired Animal carries a similar industrial vibe to Kim Gordon’s recent work.
The band found inspiration for album two from Meet Me In The Bathroom, a documentary based on Lizzy Goodman’s oral history of the New York indie scene that exploded at the turn of the millennium, and the influence of those bands is dotted throughout. There’s the brittleness of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ 2003 single Maps on So Long and Interpol-esque guitar textures aid the cinematic atmosphere on Inside Match Box.
Closing on the rousing title track, ‘Afraid Of Tomorrows’ is an album that sticks the landing. It expands The Mysterines’ musical palette and increases the emotional depth of their songwriting without ever misplacing that drove their breakthrough success. This is as exciting an alternative-rock record as you’ll hear this year.
The Mysterines Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri July 05 2024 - LIVERPOOL Jacaranda Baltic
Sat July 06 2024 - GUILDFORD Boileroom
Fri October 18 2024 - DUBLIN Whelan's
Sat October 19 2024 - BELFAST Ulster Sports Club
Sun October 20 2024 - GLASGOW Saint Lukes
Tue October 22 2024 - NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
Wed October 23 2024 - BRISTOL Thekla
Thu October 24 2024 - LONDON O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Sat October 26 2024 - LIVERPOOL Liverpool Olympia
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