W: Peter James May

Join Hands is the kaleidoscopic debut from Brighton’s congratulations, a 10-track "clusterfuck" party record that treats alt-rock with complete irreverence. Distilling years of ideas into a razor-sharp 37-minute runtime, the album transforms long-held "scraps" from songwriters Greg Burns and Jamie Chellar into muscular, high-voltage arrangements. It’s a record that refuses to play it safe, opting instead for a vibrant, non-serious approach to music-making that captures the band’s colourful, high-energy spirit.

The album’s sound is a glorious battlefield where shameless pop melodies collide with jagged guitars, thick fuzz-bass, and a smorgasbord of mangled synths. Leah Stanhope’s formidable vocals shift on a dime from spectrally angelic to hellish, while James Gillingham’s drumming oscillates between featherweight intricacy and sledgehammer force. These tracks frequently hijack the steering wheel, veering into wild tangents like the blown-out sax invasion of 'Nevagunna' or the unexpected Bollywood excursion of 'Bubbles.'

To bottle the immediacy of their rapturous live shows, the band tracked the bulk of the record in a single, high-intensity week. This raw foundation was then meticulously refined by producer Luke Phillips (Icebeing), who added the necessary "power and spice" during a lengthy mixing process. The final result is a debut that feels both dangerously spontaneous and expertly polished, tied together with a bright, multi-coloured bow and ready to blow the roof off.

UK Tour Dates:

Feb 24 York Fulford Arms. Feb 25 Newcastle Cluny 2. Feb 26 Glasgow Nice n'Sleazy. Feb 27 Huddersfield Northern Quarter. Feb 28 Bedford Esquires

Mar 3 London Moth Club. Mar 4 Birmingham Hare and Hounds. Mar 5 Norwich Voodoo Daddy's. Mar 6 Manchester Night and Day. Mar 7 Bristol The Croft