DEADLETTER - Existance is Bliss

"Existence is bliss," declare Deadletter in the title of their second album. But rather than celebrating it, the record recounts the heroic effort to attain it: a constant tug-of-war against the hostility of the world, the true fulcrum of the work.

It's in post-punk, the band's natural territory, that this tension finds its shape: dark sounds, tight and oppressive rhythms, driven forward by a heavily compressed bass. Zac Lawrence's deep voice declaims more than it sings, turning every track into a small emotional reckoning.

With these premises, Deadletter present their second album, a much-anticipated sophomore effort that confirms what was already hinted at on their 2024 debut "Hysterical Strength": the Yorkshire band, now relocated to south London, doesn't seem interested in pushing post-punk sound into new territory, but rather in doubling down on its abrasive force and most recognizable sonic traits.

Bucking the trend of the so-called "crank wave" (Squid, IDLES, Shame, Dry Cleaning), the south London scene revolving around Brixton's Windmill, Deadletter prove to be among its most hardline members, the least willing to bend the dogmas of post-punk orthodoxy, despite the presence of sax, which could open up different avenues.

The hostility that you preserve

Is caged up like a songless bird

The concept holding "Existence Is Bliss" together already takes shape in the introspective crescendo that opens "Purity I," runs through the persecutory anxieties of "To The Brim," the suffocating cages of "Songless Bird," creeps into the crawling monster of "It Comes Creeping," and manifests itself in the incurable guilt of "(Back to) The Scene Of Crime."

The post-punk imprint is unmistakable: it's felt in the dark Depeche Mode-like stride of "It Comes Creeping" and "Cheers!", in the atmospheric dark mood of early Psychedelic Furs (the sax-era ones) on "Among Us", as well as in the icy detachment that coexists with the magnetic suspensions of "Focal Point".

Thankfully there's no shortage of openings toward more contemporary sounds: "He, Himself, And Him", with bass and sax crackling in a Morphine style, and the fluttering lightness of "What The World Missed" offer some interesting variations.

This is a band that will certainly satisfy nostalgic tastes, but might turn up the noses of those looking for something truly new. Credit where it's due, though: "Existence Is Bliss" marks a step forward from its predecessor "Hysterical Strength" and the sizeable run of EPs released so far.

The use of sax also comes across as more convincing, and a few tracks ("Among Us", "Focal Point", "Purity I") reveal an emotional force that's anything but predictable. Of course, had they come out a few years earlier, they would probably have landed with a different impact.

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08/03/2026