Adult DVD's Debut Is Twelve Tracks of Leeds Dance-Punk With a Straight Face and a Filthy Grin
Bands this funny usually pay for it with production. Adult DVD self-produced their debut at The Nave Studios in Leeds and came out with the tightest-sounding record in their weight class.
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: Six people, and the arrangement never sounds like six people arguing. Harry Hanson takes the vocals, Greg Lonsdale runs synth, Danny Blackburn covers guitar and synth — which means the mid-range is where the traffic is, and the low end has been deliberately left clean underneath it. That is the choice that makes these tracks work in a club rather than just on headphones.
The Spatial Dynamics: Clash, giving it 8/10, put a finger on the tonal balance: “The crisp beats and bleeps are infectious and there’s not one hint of morbidity.” Crisp is the word — self-producing a synth-punk record usually ends in mud, and this one has separation between the drum machine, the guitars and Hanson’s voice at every volume. AllMusic heard the same construction: “Anthems purpose built around groove and lyrical flow, immediately hypnotic.”
Standout Performance
The closer. “Rolling Face” runs past five minutes, the longest thing here by a margin, and it is the one Clash’s Julia Mason went back for: “Thrillingly pulsating, it’s a highlight, no question.” Putting your most patient track last on a record this hyperactive takes some nerve.
Track Highlights
⚡ “Cowboy On Aisle Three” — NME described the single as “Lidl-inspired,” and the video was written and directed by Lonsdale and Blackburn themselves.
🌈 “World’s Best Boss” — the record’s clearest statement of purpose, and the reason Clash concluded that “Adult DVD have given us an album which pokes fun at the modern world and all its idiosyncrasies.”
⚡ “Minimal Criminal” — under two and a half minutes, and Under the Radar’s summary covers it: “Ravey tracks you’ll hear at plenty of club nights and parties.”
Why It’s Certified
Because the reviews are unanimous and slightly giddy. Dork, 100, from Jordan Ellison: “It’s funny, catchy, silly and absolutely stacked with tunes.” Far Out’s Lauren Hunter made the civic case — “Exactly the type of album needed to curb post-pandemic nightlife slump” — and Paste’s round-up simply noted that “the dance-punk sextet from Leeds churns out tunes tailor-made for headbanging and ass-shaking.”
Both things are true at once. That is the trick.