Only the Poets is an English Band from Reading, formed in 2017, who have just released their debut album, and are starting to make waves within the music scene. Alongside this, they are putting on a show at the Brixton 02 Academy on the 2nd of February with tickets being priced at £1 – for their mission to make a point that live music should be accessible to everyone and celebrate the live music scene that they grew up being inspired by – in a time of the rising cost of living crisis within the UK that influences ticket prices. As well as this, they ensured the opportunities behind it were just as accessible, by inviting 10 aspiring photographers to shoot the show and giving them the equipment required and mentorship from their own photographers, in partnership with Nikon. That is not all – as they are also doing a ‘battle of the bands’ style event – in which an unsigned artist will open for them at the show, with fans picking the winner out of 5 artists that they have picked to perform at Reading, at the Purple Turtle, where the band played their first ever show – ensuring grassroot venues benefit also. All that aside, Amplify is reviewing their debut album below, an album discovered by myself through seeing this event be put on and all the importance it will give to the live music scene.

Starting strong with the title track of the album first, with an instrumental piece, one you would hear as a tour introduction. This sounds similar to a tape rewinding at the beginning, but the build does set you up for an interest into what the rest of the album will show. ‘Monumental’ follows, focusing on a more indie rock focused sound from the band. The vocals seem to blend seamlessly into the backing track, with that similar build on that bridge that I love from bands, with the lyrics, ‘Excuses, the truth is’, and ‘losing me was monumental’ repeated in conjunction to each other. The idea of ‘losing me was monumental’ speaks to the understanding of the song, about a love one might have that has moved on very quickly but that person is still struggling ‘I’ve been taking time to get my head straight’ and ‘but that don’t get rid of my ghost in your bed’. With the gap between the bridge and chorus being filled with vocals in a more strong tone, could express that anger.

‘Emotionally Hungover’, follows, with the idea of being hungover being used as a metaphor for someone’s emotional state, maybe feeling exhuasted, but then following the lyric with,’ Now, I’m sober’, follows to perhaps express how they are getting better as they are over feeling that way often. Although it could speak to habits, it is deemed lyrically in a metaphor, which is a unique way to describe getting over someone or feeling better within yourself – as one would if they got sober as it is repeated habits. With the catchy melody the band always put forward in their work, I find this link to the main themes of heartbreak and grievance in emotion but also in an honest manner. The band’s ability to use more built up instrumentals and added vocals, gives layering and depth to each of the tracks.

‘Thinking Bout Your Ex’, starts with a different melody during the introduction before returning to the guitar and the drums as it builds, which speaks to how they can diversify their sound. Following previous tracks, it links well to the idea of battling various emotions in the journey of healing. Within this song the lyrics, ‘ there’s no way he’s moving on.. how could he give you up’, describe the idea of the person they are/were in a relationship with having a previous ex and wondering how they deal or move on with their own heartbreak, as they couldn’t give that person up. I like how the band write from slightly different perspectives within one theme, to show their variety in their writing.

‘Sake’ is a more upbeat – pop focused track but still keeping the instrumentals strong throughout with the echo effect on the first lyric, and the catchy melody on the chorus. Throughout the chorus, there is a more layered production on the track that has differed from what I have heard thus far and the repetition of the chorus amplifying that. ‘Don’t tell me that you don’t like sake, I drink it all the time’. This focuses on perhaps an idea of a relationship in which they hope the person always likes this drink as it helps them, but also writing on how the drink ‘messes you up’ still, and how the person can disagree on other things or dislike other things. I like how it is produced more pop focused, comparing to how you would listen to those melodies more in a club environment in which those drinks would be.

‘You Hate That I’m In Love’ is the overall idea of them being happy and now in love again, but the person is ‘bitter’ and reaching back out to the person again, maybe showing that they have not moved on. ‘And you hate that I’m in love, reaching out cause you’re now all alone, what’s it got to do with me baby’. There is also an emphasis on ‘hate’ and ‘love’ in that lyric on the vocals being higher pitched in tone. Throughout this record, I notice the instrumentals link well with the vocals, providing each song to continue to have catchy melodies but not overcomplicating the production at the same time.

‘Madeline’ is the first track that is much more slowed on production, and focused more in the raw lyricism and strong vocals. By the end of the track, there is close to just isolated vocals which really captivates listeners into a song that is more emotionally strong. ‘I know I’ve been out of line, said I loved you Madeline, truth is I’m scared to hurt you, so I stay, making you my enemy, think it’s time I let it be’. The lyrics seem to imply how they are with someone just because they are scared to leave them and hurt them so stick with them in a relationship that they are not fully committed to just based on that fear. It seems like an apology someone would want to give someone else before they break up with them, speaking to their diary almost, whilst holding accountability in lyrics. Even though it is a much sadder tone, there is a dreamy instrumental before the last verse, in which it is just a guitar and some vocals layered, to really make that sit with the listener also. This song is a stand-out for me as it differs so much from the other tracks, which I find breaks up the album well.

‘Freeze’ immediately goes back to the instrumentals being more focused on the guitar and drum elements that the band can deliver, building strongly again. In the chorus, they express how they ‘wish this night would freeze’ whilst they are with someone, as they wish time would stop, as things change very quickly. This could be a retrospective song on perhaps when they were first with someone and reflecting back on how they wish time stopped there as it isn’t the same now, based on other themes heard on the record, but can be intepreted also into current day as they have that worry and mistrust already there from previous experiences. There is almost an echo effect on the bridge where certain words are amplified, focusing on backing vocals.

‘SAY!’ starts the track immediately with ‘It’s been a lonely ride to replace her’, which I believe follows the previous tracks extremely well, understanding the singer is trying to move on but is struggling to feel the same emotions. The chorus repeats the title, ‘SAY!’, with the emphasis being sung vocally to a louder tone, understanding the use of the exclamation point. ‘I need you to say you miss me’ and lyrics of such, show everything the person wishes the other person said now or in the relationship so they can have such closure or move on easier, The fast paced nature of the track matches to almost the idea of time running out and the importance of needing that closure quickly.

‘God Knows Where You Were’, is the theme of finding someone right for you in a relationship but wondering where that person was the entire time whilst they were hurting: ‘God knows where you were back when I need it…Pull me from the deep end…you make it look easy’, is just the start of the chorus summing up that idea and relief they may feel, especially on the instrumental build on ‘god knows where you were my whole life’. I particularly love the lyrics, ‘Now I’m a changed man, never thought I’d change, man’, being a play on the word man being used in different contexts, showing how he has grown and developed but then the emphasis on the ‘man’ at the end being used in a more sad tone, as he reflects on his previous emotional state and how he thought that would not change, almost a relief, backing vocals always used to make that prominent. I also noticed during the first verse the repetition of ,’I’m calling’, when he previously was trying to find answers to the end being the start of what sounds like a voicemail – to signal by the end of the song that he has found those answers within someone to why he felt that way. I think it is a clever way of circling the story back and playing on such words, as well as leaving a personal touch within a song (which I find more special when there is multiple people on the song), whether intentional or not. This is my personal favourite on the record.

‘Don’t Wanna Know’ has a different style on the vocal arrangements and the production, being faster paced alongside the chorus. This is specifically seen in the repetition of ‘don’t wanna know’ in the chorus. I like how this contrasts with the bridge in which the last word of each lyric, being sung to length, to show contrast vocal arrangement and tone, and add different production to one singular track. This song describes not wanting to know what the other person is doing with their life but understanding it’s on them, ‘it’s on me, nothing to do with you, shut you out is what I have to do, cut you out to take care of myself’. I can see this differ from earlier tracks on the record such as ‘SAY!’, which makes the overall record feel like a progression in healing from situations.

‘Bad’, almost has a darker tone to the track with the bass being very prominent throughout and a lower tone, also with the title having negative connotations, more rock focused. This production makes sense within the idea of the lyricism being about how they feel that another person is saying to them that ‘everything I do always so bad, everything I do makes you mad’, and that makes them feel more angry and confused about the situation. There is also the idea of feeling trapped throughout metaphorically with the lyrics in the first verse being,”Had these shackles far too long…Ran out of shivers…And now that feeling never comes…Won’t you let me out let me out.” Although the singer is not actually tied up, is feeling trapped by someone in a relationship setting or trapped by their own mind feeling as if they cannot escape feeling that way. I like how it can allude to either within the song whilst keeping with the overarching theme on the record.

‘I Keep On Messing It Up’, is a song of honesty within lyricism, something Only The Poets do extremely well within their work, and especially focused in on this album. Focusing in on emotions of frustration, the lyricism ‘I keep on messing it up…keep holding on, when I know it’s wrong’ backing up this honesty and feeling expressed. Particularly in relation to being within a relationship and the idea of feeling stuck that we have seen in songs such as ,’Bad’ and ‘Madeline’, finding more blame on oneself. The production is a lot more upbeat within this track, which breaks it up well for the listener in a new record, but still finishes fairly abruptly by the end of the track to transition into a less built production for the last track.

The last track on the record, ‘Guess She’s Cool’, links back to the overarching theme on the record of still thinking about a person you lost within their relationship, even when you move forward. ‘I’m haunted by your silhouette in my head, I guess she’s cool, but she’ll never be, never be, never be you’, with the last lyric being repeated often. With the classic Only The Poets sound to finish the debut album off, it cements their sound on the scene further. Within the outro, there is a fade-out with an effect that sounds like a vinyl/tape ending, which loops the song back around to the first one very seamlessly. Overall, a strong debut album with a mix of production and instrumental styles, playing to their strengths as a band, and a unique vocal arrangement to match. I look forward to see how they progress in the future.

Only The Poets are also currently on a signing tour, that has already kickstarted in Manchester, and will be throughout Europe and UK, combining live performances mentioned earlier, and signings for their new record. Following this, they have their tour across Europe, playing bigger venues, kickstarting in April. There is a lot to come from this band for listeners within 2026, and the impact they are building from their live music mission will be extremely helpful for the music industry and specifically, the artists and fans within it. You can check out both their music and their Instagram below.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlythepoets/

Listen to ‘And I’d Do It Again’ here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Z40kLBFU7C8532e2YLE9t?si=P38lHro5TAywur8LfMwypw