ALBUM REVIEW: Mind Yourself – The Scratch
With their first release since 2020’s Couldn’t Give A Rats, Dublin four-piece THE SCRATCH are back with their latest offering Mind Yourself. With no pandemic this time around to hinder its release, the world is very much their oyster. Mind Yourself sees the band at the very top of their game and isn’t an album to be slept on.
Traditional Irish music and metal aren’t two genres that you would put together, and you also would be forgiven by thinking they wouldn’t work well together either. However, THE SCRATCH have been able to make an excellent concoction of the two to produce one of the best records to come out in 2023 and one which should set them out as one of the more interesting sounding bands around today.
If you’ve ever witnessed one of THE SCRATCH‘s live shows, you’ll know they bring a level of intensity to each performance that never wavers as they build up to enormous sounding crescendos that make it almost impossible to keep still. On Mind Yourself, they catch that same lightning in a bottle and carry it over to create a foreboding atmosphere throughout. It’s easy to picture these songs being played in a dark tavern lit up only by candle light as the album has a sort of dark feeling to it that contributes to its broody nature.
Kicking off proceedings is Banshee. It’s an incredibly effective opener that employs gang vocals and chants that almost feel like a Celtic war chant through a slow build up that keeps on going and going without ever showing any signs of slowing down before launching the listener into the album proper. As you manoeuvre your way through the landscape of Mind Yourself, you’ll find an excellent array of tracks that will easily slot into THE SCRATCH’s already impressive discography.
Cheeky Bastard ups the ante with a slow chugging build on guitar that is one hell of an earworm that’s almost hypnotic which keeps you hanging onto every second. The band also employ the use of a hand drum (also known as a cajon) on this song, and throughout the majority of the album it’s the glue that holds their music together, once again showing how easily THE SCRATCH are able to combine traditional Irish music with a contemporary punk and metal sound to create something truly unique and memorable.
One of the main highlights of the record is Shoes – a more subtle sounding track that abandons the chaotic enormity of the metal riffs for a slow folk ditty with a soft acoustic guitar, a tinkling piano and a beautiful orchestral arrangement that all combine for a stunning arrangement that allows you a moment of respite before the next sonic assault. There is very little time to stew in the delight of this track before we are thrown back into the madness of the record with the enormous and pummelling Blaggard. The driving riff that wouldn’t feel amiss on an IDLES album is like a freight train, as once it starts there’s very little to be done to slow it down. Accompanied by a rolling drum beat which is just as relentless, it’s easy to picture this song blowing the roof off any venue and turning the crowd into a sweaty maelstrom of mosh pits.
Towards the back end of the album there are a handful of tracks that really solidify THE SCRATCH as one of the most exciting bands around at this moment in time. Most notable is Trom II (A Slip In The Wind), which once again slows things down as it guides us through with a haunting melody before once again doing what the album does best by slowly building up to a huge ending. Even as one of the longest tracks on the record (clocking in at nearly seven minutes), it never outstays its welcome, seeing the band at their most prog-like with a PINK FLOYD-esque feel to it.
This record will please the die hards in THE SCRATCH’s fanbase, but even more impressively it will easily win over new fans who come across this album. Just when you think it might start to sound a little repetitive, it pulls the rug out from underneath you and sends you in a different direction. It keeps you guessing with what kind of track will be coming up next with its perfect blend of many genres and the thought of seeing these tracks live is a sumptuous prospect, as these new songs will propel the band to a whole new level. Mind Yourself is an excellent offering and will scratch that itch if you’re looking for something a little different to listen to. It’s one of the best releases this year – don’t miss out on it.
Rating: 8/10
Mind Yourself is out now via Music For Nations.
Like THE SCRATCH on Facebook.