Post punk quartet, Italia 90, return with their new razor sharp & edgy single, ‘New Factory‘, which shows glimpses of greatness as their British discontent for modern day London demands attention.

Despite carrying the name of the iconic World Cup, Italia 90, their sound is from a time well before Roger Milla danced like your Dad & Gazza cried like your Mum as they channel the post punk era of the late 70s recalling the likes of The Fall, Gang of Four & PIL as well as the sounds of krautrock from earlier in the decade.

‘New Factory’ begins with a bouncy bassline which continues to creep along repetitively as wiry guitars then cut through to urgent & shouty vocals before giving way to a full on thrashy chorus.  This is all whilst the lead singer, as per the band’s bandcamp, “sardonically takes aim at the drudgery of white collar work & the illusory freedom it offers” by cynically reeling off lines such as “come & be as free as me” & “once you’re in, you will never want to move”. Think about that next time you log onto your work macbook at 9am, just as you sip on a coffee from your workplace’s barista style coffee machine after a tough session at the gym where you hold a membership with employee discount.  Musically, it certainly reminds me of the legendary ‘Damaged Goods‘ by Gang of Four whilst lyrically such a cynical look on British society is also being channelled by the likes of the excellent IDLES (see our review of their new album here – https://uplateatnightagain.com/2018/09/23/idles-joy-as-an-act-of-resistance/).

Make no mistake this is a raucous & successful follow up to last year’s debut EP which shows a band with promise by the bucketload.

Review by Scott Bingham (Follow him on Twitter at @in_the_riot)

New Factory was released on the 21st September 2018 and is available to listen to on Spotify

https://italia-90.bandcamp.com/