Millie Manders and The Shutup - 'Wake Up, Shut Up, Work' Album Review

Tracklist:

Angry Side
Shut Your Mouth
Me Too
Fun Sponge
Windows
R.I.P
Halloween
Rebound
One That Got Away A.V
Threadbare
Can I Get Off?
Pressure

The second album form Milie Manders and the Shut Up is about to be released. I was lucky enough to review the first album, so I’ve been very much looking forward to hearing what was next.

Add in the band have been very vocal recently on a number of issues and are a blistering live act there was a worry that they may have been distracted by other things and not focussed on the music enough.

You can put your mind at rest this is full on Millie Manders and the Shut Up. If you liked the first album, you’re going to love this.

Switching between deeply confessional songs such as 'Angry Side' which I also reviewed as a single and absolutely loved and more political songs, both politics with a large and small P. The trademark band anger and determination to fix the world is there but there are some brilliant songs, 'Me Too' is a song that really shouldn’t need to be written let alone sung but if you want someone to make this point of this song then this is the band to do it in a way that will make you listen but also enjoy the music.

I don’t totally agree with everything Millie and the band believes as they are very vocal on social media, but I love their passion, their commitment to what they believe, the sheer quality of their songwriting and the attack in their playing, there is a lot I do agree with. They address important issues, they do it with a sense of how to turn these issues into fantastic songs and they do it all in a way that would make the dead get up and dance. Having seen them live a couple of times I can recommend them as a brilliant show. These songs are going to be a fantastic addition to their live shows.

If you want your music to be full of meaning, full of energy, full of commitment, full of both joy and anger and to be performed by a band who are 100% committed to what they do then you really need to buy or download this album.

I don’t know if they are doing any festivals this year but they are going out on tour in support of this album, go see them, go bounce, go sing, go dance, go lose your mind to a brilliant live act with brilliant songs, brilliant musicianship and one of the best front people in the business. You never get less than 100% from the band but I do think Millie’s singing is undervalued, she’s a much better singer than she gets credit for.

They also write better songs than you might think, I think sometimes that gets lost in all the other noise, but the reality is they are writing songs with meaning, with impact, with messages on a variety of subjects and they produce and play brilliantly.

I can appreciate how good they are without having to agree with everything they say, if you haven’t joined the Millie Manders and the Shut Up rollercoaster why not? You’re absolutely missing out, it’s never dull, its great music, its full of energy and its all encapsulated in this brilliant album.