Enemies of spellcheck, Stoke-on-Trent’s Formal Sppeedwear, parade a dazzling debut decked out with a lorryload of ideas. It is easy to recognise influences (Devo, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Fashion-era Bowie, Steve Reich, Talking Heads) but they manage to create something fresh, energetic and coherent from that sonic jumble. Although these are all 20th Century influences, they were all artists with a futuristic vision which helps Formal Sppeedwear to sound so contemporary. It undoubtedly helps that their sound avoids the cliches of most pop and rock music – it is devoid of 4-4 time signatures, power chords and anthemic choruses. Instead, lining up in three-piece formation, they share the lineage of other trios (The Minutemen, Big Flame, Dawson but not The Jam) in an assemblage of weird angles that are highly danceable for those practiced in more informal dance steps.
Like PIL’s ‘Metal Box’, ‘Punch Card’ takes its title from its packaging, an old-style computer punch card that signifies their brand of retro-futurism. A glance at the titles of the 12 songs gives an indication of the nature of their writing (such as ‘Hit ‘n’ Run’, ‘A Concise History’, ‘Knutmo 1-5’, ‘Aardvark x2’) which is both urgent and cryptic. An element of difference from previous trios is the significant presence of synths which gives their music extra textures and a wonky pop allure. They can be seen to good effect on the first track, ‘Hit ‘n’ Run’ where they collide with explosive guitars, funk-sharpened bass and vocals which are startled and exclamatory. With a chorus that inhabits the spirit of early XTC, ‘Who Needs Spain Ball?’ is one of their most pop-adjacent numbers with synths chiming out while the bass stops, starts and scampers around industriously.
Formal Sppeedwear lyrics tend towards the fragmentary but ‘Indecent’ could conceivably be an indictment of the media from its early assignment (“oo over here! / you’re my favourite actress / let me quote you”) to clearer intimations of greed (“they could use a horse like you / a horse that spits out money”) and the closing admission of defeat (“it’s a new crisis / it’s a disaster / I won’t recover forever.”) With its huge echoing drum and major bass action, it is particularly impactful. ‘Knutmo 1-5’ has a “what’s that sound?” refrain together with references to the sound shattering over medium market town and talk of moving to the countryside that paint images of development and decay. Meanwhile, synths run in bewildering patterns and the bass shifts emphatically. In a similar vein, ‘Aardvark x2’ mentions a closing factory while the funky basslines and piano shards of ‘A Concise History’ are infectious.
Starting off experimentally, ‘Fleas’ quickly readopts their familiar weaving patterns while the words portray disorientation (“I go to sit down… the furniture floats.”) Burnished with heavy bass thump, guitar shards and keyboard flourishes, ‘Hatchet (Gets A New Hide)’ is an especially delirious rhythmic delight, its instruction “ditch course machinate, bump and collide” ought to be the song’s dance manual.
‘The Ballad of DCB’ pays tribute to their local literary paradise, Drop City Books, and bemoans how “the boys and girls who better their city / are getting rolled over.” The manner in which the guitar and synths hurtle in different but mutually complementary directions is a particular highlight. Panic imbues the vocal delivery to the dystopian ‘Appointment’, a song that does deliberately disintegrate before resurrecting its scratchy rhythm. Differing from anything that has gone before and considerably lengthier at nearly six minutes, the album ends with ‘Friedrich Backs Up Nothing’ which utilises sound-manipulated cellos to create an unsettling atmosphere while they explore how history might react to the world today.
Ending with a few seconds of dial-up tone, ‘Punch Code’ is a remarkable debut that plunders elements that have recently seen futuristic. The playing is phenomenal as it stretches and pulls in unlikely directions while invariably sounding naturally enjoyable, as if such an unorthodox organisation of sounds and emphasises was the only possible option. It is thrilling and entirely spplendid.
Formal Sppeedwear: Punch Card – Out 11 September 2026 (Melodic Records)
Sppeedwear – The Ballad of DCB (Official Video)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
