the tuppenny – devizine.com

If the eonian motivation of youths picking up guitars and forming bands has hit Gen Z enough that they’re two to a penny, I’m in the right place to discover one new to us, The Tuppenny….

An adept drummer pinched from Bristol, with the remaining homegrown members formed a youthful and hopeful Swindon indie-rock four-piece called Ursa Way, and they’ve ploughed two years into their debut album Yesterday’s Tomorrow, launched on the night in question. Now was the time to show it off, and they did in an exceptionally accomplished and entertaining way.

If an early start to a Friday evening one weekend before the celebrated Swindon Shuffle was risky, especially being Thursdays are usually the favoured live music nights for The Tuppenny, seems the band are risk-takers, as diving straight in with a twelve track album is ambitious.

Generous to a loyal fanbase when the archetypal EP usually appears first, for the same fiver pricetag, but equally generous are the young punks and an assortment of others who’ve gathered to see them, as they applauded their efforts as if a new wave of hysteria was imminent, which it could well be. Though, this is Old Town, the epicentre of Swindon’s nightlife, where they’ve ingeniously adopted road closure blockades to create Swindon-fashioned alfresco dining areas!

Ursa Way played out their album, but unlike the shameless enterprise of a legend, I predict it was the bulk of their repertoire, and that’s acceptable for an upcoming band. More importantly they did it with bells on; the composition tight, the delivery confident. They seemed most comfortable with a melodic pace rather than thrashing it out, but at perkier tunes they still held it harmoniously.

In a roundabout way they confessed many of their songs were sporadic and spontaneous muses rather than poignantly planned thought processes, which was both amusing and honest, perhaps ironic too I figured after listening to the album. But not as amusing as complimenting Swindon, only to then ironically knock it in a song called Shit Town of Swindon!

While not the poetry of Keats, many of their co-written songs rise above the mocking of their hometown, which if only a standout track for its satirical title, others convey more concentrated narratives. There’s a sense of irony throughout though, if Yesterday’s Tomorrow is surely today, the title track is the penultimate one, and depicts a hungover hope of new horizons of a romantic interlude, in a Britpop style.

The album kicks off with Southbound, an evenly-paced contemporary punk-pop attitude sourced from millennial indie bands like Busted and McFly. Though this album flows brilliantly, it’s onto something decidedly more traditional punk two tracks in, then the aforementioned Shit Town of Swindon continues the style, Britpop influences gradually building. This one has to be anthemic in good time, particularly for their Swindonite fanbase.

Chasing the Sun four tunes in really picks up the pace, again with a comment on their hometown, but with optimism riding the narrative; there’s a clever and simple hook equal to the previous one here, proving these boys know how to construct a pop song with energy and enthusiasm.

A ballad, Just a Game follows, balancing the pace, and again proving something, that Ursa Way are no one trick pony. Noah’s Nosey Neighbour takes an almost prog-rock style to Britpop, creativity abound here too, this rocks with surprising substance, and we’re only halfway through this twelve-tracks-strong brilliant debut album.

With adroit contrasts in riffs, mainstream rock influences, perfectly placed hooks and intelligent lyrics, there’s promise in this album that Ursa Way are destined to create something much more memorable, but right now the potential signs are all encompassed in Yesterday’s Tomorrow. It ends with Another, a monstrously clever drifting Britpop tune seemingly about jealousy, dripping with edge and emotion.

They played this album out at The Tuppenny on Friday, reflecting the feeling we’ll be hearing more of this young band in the future, and the gig felt like a groundbreaking moment for them, in respect of that notion.

LinkTree to Ursa Way

I love the Tuppenny, a hospitable tavern with universal appeal. Thursdays are the live music nights usually, but as I said, it’s Swindon Shuffle next weekend, see my recommendations here, I’m certain some were at the Tuppenny!