Rob’s Album Of The Week: The Futureheads’ Powers

It can be a wonderful thing when the unexpected happens in music. For example, a band that was thought to be long gone gets back together and puts out an album that picks up where they left off. Coming from the English city of Sunderland, The Futureheads were British indie rock darlings from the 2000s to the early 2010s until they called it a day in 2013. Last year they reunited to create new material and the culmination of this is their sixth album, Powers, that came out on August 30 via their own label Nul Records. There’s a seamless restart from the starting point of their sound that’s as if the breakup never happened.

The new album exhibits the band’s trademark hard-charging approach with a flurry of riffs and rhythms. Guitarists Ross Millard and Barry Hyde still switch it up on lead vocals while the unique choral harmonies are also present. Sometimes when a band puts out their first album in a while, they can stray from what made them great in the first place. The Futureheads fortunately didn’t do this with their new release and the stuck to what they do best. There’s also a case to be made that Powers is the best record they’ve ever put out, it’s that good.

One thing people don’t really talk about is the legacy that 2000s indie music has on today’s landscape. The apex point has to be between 2007 and 2009 where tons of bands like…