Nathan Detroit. A character best portrayed by Frank Sinatra in Guys And Dolls and Mark Hamill in the Simpsons episode ‘Mayored To The Mob’. Also, a bloody good pop-punk band. Stewing and doing the rounds on the toilet circuit pop-punk scene since their inception back in 2012, the Trowbridge band will be looking to keep the momentum built up from ‘14’s ‘Peace Of Mind’ with their brand new 5-tracker ‘Downcast’. It’s set to be an angsty one.

Opening with the melodically frantic ‘23rd’ before descending into the murky grunge of ‘Comfort You’ the band seem to have no intention of holding any of their simmering emotion back. As has become the current trend, pop punk has traded in the house party and broken heart influences for much more deep set feelings and Nathan Detroit have a lot of them to draw on. ‘Distance’ whizzes past with mic-grabbing honesty and neck-busting resilience, before ‘RUH’ and the title track provide the right mix of rain cloud-summoning sadness and danceable beats. As a whole, ‘Downcast’ doesn’t overstay its welcome. It doesn’t give you chance to ask if it is okay. It simply comes and goes as it pleases and leaves you feeling thoughtful, touched and a little bit sadder than when you started.

‘Downcast’ is a short, sharp set of emotional hymns for anyone who is in need of a little encouragement that they are not alone in their mooching. Nathan Detroit may not be making any headlines just yet, but with this level of consistent high calibre songwriting that they are currently working at, it shouldn’t be too long until their name is in shining lights.

3.5/5

Downcast by Nathan Detroit is out now on Speaking Tongues.

Nathan Detroit links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words by Jack Rogers (@JackMRog)