Basht. : Poor Advice - A Review by Eve Smith and Amy Jade Davies

Words - Eve Smith and Amy Jade Davies

‘Poor Advice’ might be exactly what we needed to hear. This new album from Basht. is hauntingly beautiful.

The nearly forty-minute album is made up of ten songs, all of which to make you either think or dance- or both. From songs such as ‘Keira Knightley’ with a heavy bass and a melancholy undertone to songs like ‘Circadia’ that make you want to dance and mosh, ‘Poor Advice’ takes us hauntingly into the depths of a world we feel we haven’t yet gotten to experience.

The record opens with ‘Dive’, beginning delicate in its soft, short vocals in the introduction as if to ease the listener into the ride before flying into searing riffs. This track is built in a classically Basht manner, with intense builds and steep drops in the instrumentation used to highlight different

sections of the song and force the audience to pay attention. The lyrics hold a thematic balance between mellow softness and becoming viscerally blunt, built upon in a way that always keeps Jack Leavey’s vocals at the forefront of the piece even when the instrumentation is at its louder moments.

Next plays ‘Perfume’. It has long since been a Basht fan favourite, and it is not hard to see why - a desperately well-crafted track delving into a relationship in which one party is not nourishing the partnership. The lyrics strike with a forked tongue, particularly in the repeated phrases “Come

home and tend the roses” at the end of each chorus that calls out like a plea, and the bridge also repetitive in the line “Can’t hide the scent of turpentine and cheap perfume”, creating a scene of a lover who is attempting to mask where they have been and what they have been doing. The guitars play a monumental part at establishing this idea, not quite clashing with each other but certainly showing that there is a subtle sense of being at odds with each other, barely scraping against the breaking point.

It seems like it has always been popular to name songs after celebrities, as did Bowie with ‘Andy Warhol’. ‘Keira Knightley’ pulls the album into a direction of not quite knowing where you stand with someone. The guitars are almost in and out throughout the track, as if the sound doesn’t know

whether to stay or take its leave. The most satisfying point lyrically hits in the second verse when commenting on heading to Paris alone and then translating the line from the previous verse in “Ring your bell like Keira Knightley” into French. The track as a whole feels like being kept in limbo between whether the relationship is worth keeping, heavily loaded with questions and doubts but always settling on wanting to be around.

It’s not over yet- ‘Terror TV’ is where the album swings in a different direction both lyrically and musically. It is a more upbeat addition to Basht.’s catalogue, holding a bouncy feel of trying to have fun with the track whilst tackling a heavy subject. The song very noticeably comments on the

state of the news in the modern day and how it affects the ordinary person, with the bridge discussing the consequences of the media forcing the world to always be at odds with each other, breeding that sense of mass panic that is evolving into modern life.

Taking us back to a gentler touch, the opening note of ‘Superchurch’ sounds quietly reminiscent of a church bell which is a perfectly chosen touch to start. With lighter vocals than the previous track, it holds that delicacy that the band executes so well on many of their tracks. The song is carried by the incredibly written imagery within the lyrics, especially within the chorus mentioning “When all of this is said and done, I’ll meet you in the setting sun / Beyond the walls of Eden, and greet you as a free man”. With more religious imagery dotted throughout in comments like “Hear the serpent’s hissing tongue” and “I am no prodigal son”, the track’s commentary on how it feels to be in a state of internal conflict with religion really bleeds through every note it has been crafted with.

Lughaidh Armstong on the guitar stunned with sound in ‘Vermillion Reptilian’- it is beautiful, sounding like air not knowing how much space to fill and instead singing you lullabies. ‘Vermilion Reptilian’ is the first track on the record that has a heavier pull on the guitars than the vocals and

lyricism, whilst still holding a note of continuation from the religious themes established in the previous track - though arguably, it is brought up in a less obvious way. The crescendo towards the end of the track feels like finalising a decision, tying together all the feels of the record as a collective

piece up until this point in the album.

‘Circadia’ feels entirely like preparing for a battle. The most effective part of the track enforcing this is Ryan McClelland playing the staccato drums, feeling at times out of place but wholly central to the lyrical theme of the world caving in and falling apart. The lyric “Lead your lambs to the slaughter” is such a poignant comment, and the addition of the repetitive “And again, its Circadia” displays how there is no release from this pattern. The record holds a repetitive fight in its core that pours out of every track but feels as though it has hit its peak within this song.

Singer Jack Leavey showcases his stunning vocal abilities throughout, pairing with the bass and rest of the band perfectly to make you nod along to any track that plays. Tackling vulnerability within music is always a difficult theme to get right, and ‘Moth’ hits the mark perfectly. With more of

an airy feel to the guitars, ringing clearer and more confident in their melodies, combined with authentic lyrics that are felt most in the “Nothing scares me like you” within the chorus, ‘Moth’ is more than just a love song - it is a piece laced with the very real sense of defencelessness when it comes to love after pain. Jack Leavey in ‘Moth’, dare we say the softest song on ‘Poor Advice’, reaches ultimate high notes and creates melodies that are so utterly devastating beside the sorrowful chords of the guitars.

The band have taken a clear step in the way of punk with some of these new songs, featuring characteristics of bands like The Buzzcocks in songs like ‘Terror TV’ with the use of a certain speed and melody- all whilst including a general sense of punk-like anger, or overwhelming passion.

They have also very much so claimed a grunge label with how their songs are composed and the sound of their instruments, staggeringly emotional yet exciting. This can be seen in songs such as the contrastable ‘Superchurch’ and the think-piece that is ‘Kids Vs Guns’, both harvesting a heavy bassline by Louis Christle.

‘Kids Vs Guns’ brings another political commentary, but this time targeted towards the individual people affected rather than the media. Lines like “Holy water’s hard to come by / So go and dig an early grave” are visually cutting, which is exactly what they are intended to be. The most striking

moment comes in the final line of the verses and choruses, crying for peace by asking “How many minds are left to change / Till it comes undone”, which hits harder in the final chorus when the line changes to “Till I Come Undone”. It is such a simple, small change that reflects how large the effect of war is on the people, proving that there is a standpoint for everyone within the situation.

The record closes with title track ‘Poor Advice’, which does an excellent job of tying all the loose ends up. If you regard the album as one collective piece, previous themes have all been dark, challenging and at times disheartening. ‘Poor Advice’ brings a sense of hope in the hard times, especially considering the lines “In the darkest hours there’s a flicker of the light / I know it’s not yet blinding, but it’ll get you through the night”. This track stands in its place as a final comment to keep looking for hope, soundtracked with a powerful, ostinato-like plucking guitar in the chorus, serving as a reminder that being in the lowest places creates space to find the footing to plant roots and begin to grow. Each song on the album felt as if it built up to ‘Poor Advice’, showing a universal conflicting journey or even a route away to somewhere else.

Overall, this is another showstopping debut album for 2026. Oh, what a year of good treatment from the alternative music scene.