IRKED have been steadily building their reputation in the DIY scene in northern England for some time now. With an EP that sold out two pressings and appearances on BBC 6 Music, expectations were high for the Newcastle band's debut album. The Grievance undoubtedly exceeds them.

The album opens with 'I.R.K.E.D.F.U.', a two-beat instrumental into which Helen Walkinshaw bursts in, pushing the energy even further. It's a perfect starting point for the fourteen tracks that follow, which portray contemporary life as a system of constant pressure, where work, relationships and politics blur into one. IRKED don't offer a single, direct critique, but rather a mosaic of situations, from job insecurity to the cultural scene, showing how even spaces that should offer refuge fail to escape the system.