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Sep 07, 2023 Web Exclusive By Andy Von Pip

After releasing three acclaimed EPs and touring relentlessly, including playing to a sold-out audience of 97,000 at the Stade de France outside Paris opening for the French band Indochine, Coach Party finally release their debut album, KILLJOY. It’s an album that distills all that is exciting about the Isle of Wight four-piece, who have carefully crafted an explosive and highly engaging debut.

Filled with relatable lyrics about the “sometimes amusing struggles of real life,” the band have cranked up the noise and distortion, and the results have paid dividends. Notably, on tracks like the gloriously unhinged “Parasite” and “Micro Aggression,” which see lead singer and bassist Jess Eastwood channelling her rage against the sort of people who are always ready with sexist put-downs and those who seem to exist merely to drain the ambition, joy, and creative energy from any given moment.

This is Coach Party with all guns blazing, but it’s not all about sonic rage. There are reflective moments such as the wistful “Be That Girl” and “Always Been You.” It’s a powerful debut that is never one-paced and is packed with memorable melodies as the band confronts life’s trials and tribulations head-on. There’s no handwringing; and it’s this direct approach that gives the album its power, as Eastwood reasons that whatever the whys and wherefores of somebody’s behavior, sometimes calling it out is the way to go. As she says, “the truth is that people are just dicks sometimes.” (www.coachparty.ochre.store)

Author rating: 8/10