Album review: Jools – Violent Delights

‘Nobody decides it’s over for me, but me,’ intones Kate Price on the opening and closing tracks of Violent Delights, just one of many defiant mantras thrown like molotov cocktails across Jools’ colourful debut riot. It’s a long way from their 2019 debut single, Hysterical Starving Naked, an energetic if derivative slab of snarky post-punk. As Violent Delights shows, Jools have since mutated into something far more daring – and vital.

That’s in no small part down to line up changes, with the addition of Kate to original vocalist Mitch Gordon introducing one of the most exhilarating dynamic duos in rock today. The pair weave around each other on Live Deliciously, trading viewpoints that skewer neat masculine and feminine stereotypes over disorienting, looped guitars. Elsewhere, they finish each other’s lines or roar in unison, Kate’s sultry and powerful vocals complementing Mitch’s bolshy Midlands drawl as he delivers hilarious barbs like ‘loudmouth for a man with tiny lips’ (Cardinal).

Just as essential is the band’s ability to fuse punk intensity with swaggering heaviness and shades of post-rock. Knee Injury’s moody blend of swirling guitars and simmering grooves are counterweighted by Limerance's bouncing anthem and the nuclear punk attack of Guts, both primed to detonate mosh pits. Yet 97% is Jools at full force: a united front of volcanic rhythms, splintering guitars and spat invective against misogynistic violence that refuses to be silenced.

If Violent Delights focusses on abusive power dynamics – whether it be sexual violence (97%), religious repression (Mother Monica), or family alcoholism (Dunoon) – then the confrontational camaraderie Jools display here is a celebration of taking power back. Call it an underdog story, call it ‘Boulash spirit,’ as Mitch puts it on Cardinal. At their heart Jools are a band of misfits who understand that living jubilantly, not just well, is the best revenge. Violent Delights is sweet, riotous revenge, indeed.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Petrol Girls, IDLES, Mannequin Pussy

Violent Delights is released on July 4 via Hassle