The second LP from the Scandi punk rockers is a anxious collection of emotionally torn punk at its absolute best.

Released March 1st, 2019, Play It Again Sam.

With an air of isolation surrounding ‘Into Red’, the album cover of two separate beings distanced from one another reveals a new side to FEWS that has been buried deeply beneath the post-punk exterior, now fighting its way to the surface. Everything that FEWS execute on ‘Into Red’ pleads for change and acknowledgement from someone who is their own worst enemy, whether it be through monotonic dissonance or highly strung screams. Yet this plea is more of a banging the glass wall type of moment, falling upon deaf ears when it’s already too late. ‘Into Red’ unquestionably shows us FEWS at their most vulnerable, even while still wearing a thick layer of armour on top that they are beginning to oppose.

The apathy anthem ‘More Than Ever’ embodies the sense of being pushed too far, as it spits out grey matter and a lack of any care for near enough anything, blasting itself into oblivion “talking to myself now/shutting you out now/the alcohol gets me/I’m killing myself over, nothing in particular”. There’s a faint cry that’s tired of feeling anything, so instead it becomes layered with crashing guitars and monotonic choruses to drown out the sounds of unhappiness with familiar punk, greeted by cheers instead of faces of pure terror. FEWS shared how they hoped “no one relates to this song” with fear and hope that the real message of ‘More Than Ever’ isn’t something that anyone should be able to relate to easily.

Following track ‘Suppose’ keeps the anxiety levels of ‘More Than Ever’ high, lusting over the idea of taking someone with you, aiming to destroy yourself all while bringing this person along for the ride. “I want to feel like Elvis for one night, I want to lose total control by your side, and that’s okay, it’ll do for today”. The lure and excitement of hitting self-destruct is all too tempting on ‘Suppose’, pushing down the desire to be “like someone from your childhood” instead chasing after the permanent fix of fucking everything up. ‘Suppose’ chimes in with the charm of melodic guitar hooks that present a change of air to their post-punk hostility, before counteracting this by blasting itself apart in a calamitous conjunction of screeching riffs, reigning total disarray upon the already emotionally broken.

‘Limits’, and ‘Over’ further continue on with the notion of apathy and self destruction, trading incessant loathing for more centralised disdain on the outer world, utilising drawn out, droned vocals on ‘Limits’, with fast swirling guitars and synths reigning utter madness upon ‘Over’.

’97’ greet us with ‘Into Red”s calmest moment, a realisation that it’s too late, as the people they were, are the same as who they are to date, “you’re older but not much wiser, I’m older but not much brighter”. After this realisation, FEWS naturally hit the destruct button (again), switching the clanging of wired fences for eruptions of malfunctioning guitars, with following track ‘Anything Else’ spewing out unfiltered punk energy like volatile missiles welcoming destruction down upon everyone. The final moments of ‘Fiction’, capture the world as it catches fire, imploding in on itself, as a sky filled with orange and grey carries ‘Into Red’ out, with the remnants of annihilation in the form of a gargantuan fire being all that is left behind.

Altogether, ‘Into Red’ is far from just being a post-punk album, ready for fans to enjoy for a moment and recollect when they come to their local town/city. The sense of anxiety and anguish that FEWS emit across ‘Into Red’ is reflective of most people nowadays, especially their fans. The lust for some form of connection with the world and the people within it, all while being completely pissed off with everything, reaching for any form of self-destruction to eradicate your own world when it presents itself, is all too real for the youth of today and generations before, making it an already cult-classic. The Scandi-punkers have surpassed any expectations that may have been set for their second LP, cultivating a collection of songs that will undoubtedly stand the test of time.