Manchester’s Valuable McKenzie scratched their 7-year hiatus itch with the discharge of their single, ‘Mushy Pores and skin, Screaming’ on April 7; a precursor to their upcoming EP, which brings with it a promise of extra cerebrally Machiavellian lyricality and stylistic ricochets throughout the alt-indie spectrum.
As an exposition of emotional dependancy, hedonic extra and the way the intersections between them can result in the avenue of alienation and desperation to evade apathy, the only opts for realism over resolve, affirming how in the long run, we return to mud, and but, there’s catharsis within the emotive cataclysm which proves that romance isn’t lifeless, it’s simply nihilistic and as dysfunctional as its perpetrators as they chase the impermanence of satisfaction in an period of dystopia.
With a refrain that delivers the visceralism we crave to summary us from the monotony of unaltered psychological states following palpitatingly taut verses of angular guitars fuelling the stress and visualising the nervousness that instils itself within the preludes of indulgence, ‘Mushy Pores and skin, Screaming’ is the sharpest blade on the alt-indie execution block in 2025.
Via chameleonic vocals that ship poetic tender sentimentality, increase into anthemic 00s indie adrenaline, discover room to inject sardonic spite and let restraint slip into ether whereas protecting flawless pitch like an indie crooner on the brink, Mushy Pores and skin, Screaming, is a buzzsaw by the thoughts, physique, soul and rhythmic pulses.
Mushy Pores and skin, Screaming is now accessible to stream on all main platforms, together with Spotify and YouTube.
Assessment by Amelia Vandergast
