The Hipshakes are the Garage-Pop pride of Manchester, having released three records and a list of 7″s over the past decade with a range of stellar names, Goner and Slovenly included. It’s easy to see why the group have been such a hit over the years, their catchiness seems to meet no end, and having developed most of their recorded output on their own (where we’re going we don’t need producers), there is a real admiration for their rough and immediate output.
‘My Confession‘, the leading statement of a single from the group’s outstanding third record ‘Maximum Growth and Vigour‘, comes to define all the excellent qualities of The Hipshakes in a mere two minutes. The track bursts with the group’s personality and dead-pan humour within their music, something certainly not forced and yet not seen so much anymore for the worry of it seeming that way. Andrew Anderson is caustic and ever-so idiosyncratic, rasping out lines of “Nothing is original / your love is conditional / just look at all the effort spent”. as the group drive on faster, completely aware and in control of their direction.
The harmonies throughout the song simply make it fucking fun, the combination of four vocals and the unbridled energy in their guitars make for an unforgettable track. In Anderson, they have a lead-man with something to say without you realising, the subtle displays of sentiment having a larger effect when sat underneath the waves of exuberant harmonics and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it structure. There’s even time for an almighty bridge, one that exposes the group’s Post-Punk leanings that make them Manchester’s go-to melodic joy.
The Hipshakes’ third album, ‘Maximum Growth & Vigour’, is out now and available to purchase here.