Having our own musical journey seeded and bred in the small but tenacious independent record labels which leapt from the punk scene decades back there is an instinctive intrigue and appetite for the energy and passion which fuels such endeavours. They are adventures which are all about the music, it and their creators the reason for every move and release. This is no more epitomised than by Society Of Losers, a Liverpool hailing label formed in 2016. We were drawn to their presence and releases through the outstanding Salt The Snail before subsequently discovering the glories of . Now we have a couple of new tracks from two more of their bands with each confirming Society Of Losers a go to outlet for compelling escapades.
First up is the new track from the label’s latest recruits, Mr Ted. Liverpool bred, the band stepped forth around 8 to 9 years back but only released their first single last year, the ear stalking Shame. As its successor, the track was a feral contagion of grunge, punk, and noise rock emerging as something firmly individual to the band. Muscle Milk is a devious web sharing the same flavoursome threads entangled in many more but even more dramatically eventful and thrilling.
Consisting of Peter Williamson, Mark Hughes, Mark Charles Manning, and Phillie Collier, a quartet who list past and present the likes of Iron Witch, Pet Virus, and another of our favourites in 
Enamel Animal within their CVs, Mr Ted immediately tease ears with a guitar wire; a coaxing line to a tide of sonic trespass which swiftly rises up. Just as urgently, the track’s thick groove and swing invades ears and body, leading an eager sway as rhythms prowl within the nagging insistence of the guitars. With vocals equally as infectious in their untamed antics the song revels in its unpredictable imagination aligned to a moments of more composed grunge nurtured roars.
Never taking a moment to truly settle, the track twists and turns with a creative psychosis which just inflames its natural fever and bold enterprise. Muscle Milk is our introduction to the band and yep we are hooked and already impatiently anticipating the band’s upcoming debut album.
Leaders is the new single from another Liverpool outfit in Bisch Nadar who similarly cast a sound spawn from a blend of styles, in this case merging the essences of math and alternative rock with progressive and pop infused flavours. Their new track shows it makes for a potent proposition taking little time to have ears and enjoyment keenly engaged.
The thick grooves of A Rathbone’s guitar lay enticingly within the rhythmic lures of bassist G Yelding and drummer Andrew Finney, each aspect 
as inviting as they are imposing. The warm vocal tones of Rathbone similarly are allied to the throat rasping scowls of Yelding; that aligning of contrasts the heart and power of a song with bite to its welcoming character and organic volatility in its belly.
A song which tempts from the off but definitely grows by the listen, Leaders insists on closer attention upon Bisch Nadar and indeed as Mr Ted’s addictive bait, to one rather fertile field of freshness and pleasure at Society Of Losers.
Both tracks are available now @ https://societyoflosers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.societyoflosersrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MrTedLives https://twitter.com/MrTedLives
https://www.facebook.com/bischnadar https://twitter.com/bischnadar
Pete RingMaster 29/03/2019
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
The following Baby’s Got Cold Feet casts a minefield of shuddering beats as a groove woven bassline strolls with grumbling dexterity within the melodic flourish of keys. Like a scowling tango built on the attributes of Pigbag and Swell Maps, the song hits the spot with increasing addictiveness though it is soon eclipsed by the caustic Art Attacks meets mclusky tango of Play the Harp, Throw the Spear. It is a rabid trespass but with a restraint which only escalates its impact before the album’s title track raises the ante yet again. It too has the scent of numerous decades of rock ‘n’ roll in its uncompromising proposal shaped by the imposing skeletal steel frame set by Josh. Hooks and catchy enterprise erupt across its barbarous stroll, a blend of contrasts just as potent within the pair’s infectious vocal insurgency.
A virulently gripping start to the album, it is magnetically backed up by Aches and Veins. A less agitated encounter to its predecessor but no lightweight on math rock ingenuity as skittish rhythms link up with jazzier flirtations of guitar and bass, the song also brews its own slightly tempestuous crescendos of energy and drama. Like The Fall of Troy meets Young Knives, ears and feet are gripped in no time then passed over to the similarly explosive and virulent Bob’s Logs. Again the just mentioned Leicestershire trio come to mind, they the most regular hint we can use to the creative tapestry spun by Bear Makes Ninja across Shenanagrams. The three pronged vocal persuasion is especially alluring in the third track, radiating with character and harmonic charm from within the at times thickly busy climate of the track.
II opens with Moon Signal and straight away thoughts drift on the breeze of melodic and atmospheric coaxing. Keys whisper suggestively with their calm caress whilst a guitar emotively entices before sparking a broadening into a thicker and more volatile landscape. The celestial air which painted the start continues to ebb and flow within the spatial yet tightly woven invitation of the track, its journey hinting at vastness and intimacy simultaneously whilst twisting through varied realms as the song explores new avenues of calm, tempestuousness, and imagination.
Absence is the first welcome stirring of the senses, tangy grooves and thumping beats enriching an instant sonic swamp of noise swiftly loaded up further with the distinctive, angst hued tones of Warner. It is a striking and invigorating mix which has body and thoughts fully involved from the first trespass. Like something springing from a blend of Melvins, Quicksand, and Sofy Major, the track continues to growl and flex its confrontational muscles yet breeds an inescapable contagion. Adventure is already bold in the album, the song for example slipping through mellower evocative scenery across its potently unpredictable landscape for a mighty start to the inventive emprise of Smile Club.
The following Pagan Pageant opens with a folkish air and quaint melody wrapped in caustic ambience, the blend further coloured by raw and often wandering vocals. Slightly deranged and openly wrong-footing, the song swings from good to not sure regularly but already there is that captivation at play meaning you want to indulge in its confusion and incitement again and again in response to its increasing persuasion. Next up Trail of T-Shirts is a more immediate tempting but also reveals stronger enticing over listens. Sharp hooks and spoiled melodies provide an appealing enticement whilst the energetic rhythms quickly bait ears and appetite, but it is the delicious discord coating the clang which steals the passions, another mighty aspect across the release backed as here by potent guitar craft and rhythmic juggling.