July 9, 2009

Album review: Southport - 'Armchair Supporters'

Punk-pop doesn't have to be a dirty word

5 / 10 It’s easy to forget that punk-pop didn’t always rely on expensive production to capture the hearts of disaffected kids. Southport mainman Simon Wells cut his teeth in Brit pogo-kings Snuff a good decade before Sum 41 et al invaded the charts and he clearly yearns for those simpler times. There’s an endearing DIY charm to ‘Armchair Supporters’ in the terminally off-key vocals, chugging guitars and sun-bleached harmonies, particularly on fizzy opener ‘Days Like These’. Occasionally the band overcompensate with detours into organ-led filler on dubious curio ‘Disco 3000’, or cookie-cutter mall punk like ‘Optimism’. Still, their stubborn refusal to submit to middle age is admirable.

Tom Edwards

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