Millie Manders & The Shutup (MMATS) are a band that have gained a great deal of hype over the last few months, with lots of excitement building over the release of their debut album, Telling Truths, Breaking Ties. Now the album has been released we can finally answer the question of whether the hype was worth it – we’re happy to announce that TTBT has actually exceeded our expectations, and it’s one of the best things we’ve heard all year.
By Jane Howkins
MMATS are generally considered to be a punk band, with single Bitter sounding like a modern punk song. However, we found ourselves pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of the other songs on the record flirt with other genres, with elements of hip-hop, metal and folk music being heard as well. It all sounds utterly effortless as well, and there’s a broad scope for experimentation and maturity in the band’s bright future – we’re very interested to see what they create next time around.
In terms of lyrics, MMATS are definitely a punk band, with most of these songs having a political basis. Silent Screams was one of the stand-out political tracks for us, with Millie rapping about the difficult issues of the day. It’s interesting, as the song features a riff that wouldn’t be out of place in a metal song, showing yet another genre that the band can do,
Millie has an amazing vocal range – sometimes she reminds us of Brody Dalle from The Distillers, and at other times she even raps. There were also occasions where we felt that her vocal style would be perfectly suited to the folk genre, and it’s her voice as much as the music itself that helps to create this experimental, genre-bending sound.
Telling Truths, Breaking Ties is a fantastic debut release for Millie Manders & The Shutup, and we reckon it’s one of the best albums of the year so far. This gutsy attitude is just what the world needs at the moment, and with a sound like this the band simply cannot fail. Check them out now before they get too big – they’re guaranteed to hit the bigtime with music this good.