ALBUM REVIEW: Our Hell Is Right Here – Drones
DRONES have been a band who never quite found their niche. Tucked away between beatdown bands at Upsurge Festival in 2019, they were too poppy for a lot of the audience, but too punk to be considered part of that pop-punk scene either. Sophomore album Our Hell Is Right Here sees the band truly come into their own after 2018’s excellent debut Exiled, and vocalist Lois McDougall absolutely steals the show, with some real BLACK FLAG-esque performances.
The intensity of McDougall’s vocals belies the personal nature of the subject matter, with lead single Josephine addressing her struggles with alcohol, and the listener can really feel how much she struggles. It is incredible that the band were able to craft something so hard hitting when the majority of this record was recorded separately over the course of 2020. If the band hadn’t revealed this in previous conversations then it would have gone completely unnoticed, as this record feels as cohesive as the ‘traditionally’ recorded Exiled does.
Our Hell Is Right Here is a punk record in the most traditional of terms. Opening with a wicked fill from drummer Mitchell Thomas before immediately launching into fast-paced opener Please Vacate The Planet. The band make excellent use of dynamics, allowing McDougall’s voice to carry the song through slower points, before the full band kick back in for the blistering chorus. A particular highlight is the build, and subsequent climax of the track, which glistens with energy before launching back into the chorus. Please Vacate The Planet really sets the pace for the rest of Our Hell Is Right Here, which keeps up at almost breakneck speed – and is sure to be a fantastic live set opener.
Another highlight of this record has to be the title track, which is as much of a fast-paced punk track as anything from THE RAMONES or MINOR THREAT. Listeners can really hear the hopelessness in McDougall’s voice when she sings; “The more I learn about the world, the sadder I become.” This track also features Ren Aldridge from PETROL GIRLS, who commits her harsh yells to the record, emphasising this track’s exploration and condemnation of abuses of power – drawing inspiration from personal experience and from the outpouring of controversies surrounding various band members misusing their powerful positions in the past few years.
This feels like an angry record, but not in the same sense as a band like INCENDIARY or STRAY FROM THE PATH do. The anger on Our Hell Is Right Here seems to stem from self-reflection, and takes the appearance of a much more emotional form, rather than a lashing out against systemic issues. This is down to the fact that McDougall’s voice tends to lend itself much better to clean vocals – which she is excellent at – and the rare times that she actually shouts or screams, it really conveys the emotional anguish that she is experiencing. DRONES also explore the sonic counterpart, completely slowing everything down for acoustic track Listen, which implores the audience to examine the lyrics, which are an explanation of McDougall’s fragile mental state, with lines like “If you feel like dying, be alone with me tonight.” It is a deeply personal song and also seems to attest to experiences with loved ones reaching those lows too.
Overall, DRONES have crafted a really good punk record. For a genre that has often been seen as ‘washed out,’ or bland, along come DRONES with something that completely rejuvenates the sound – despite being recognisably a punk album. Undeniably guided by Lois McDougall’s powerful vocals, Our Hell Is Right Here is a deep dive into her struggles with mental health, and manages to touch on some really emotional points, whilst still remaining light and fast enough to dance to.
Rating: 7/10
Our Hell Is Right Here is out now via Lockjaw Records.
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