Review: 'Get Along'

Ollie Hussey
Feb 17
3 min read

Updated: Feb 18

Manchester's favourite four-piece release their pseudo-debut single - and they're better than ever.

As one of the first bands that we reviewed back in 2022, it seemed only fitting that we catch up with Pyncher. After a bit of a kerfuffle with their distributor, Steely Dan and the Chew EP sadly disappeared from streaming services. However - all is well. With Get Along comes the same Pyncher we came to know, but perhaps even stronger.

Arriving unapologetically with Britt Dewhurst's bass, the band kick off into a pulsing trance. The intro is decorated by echoed ad-libs panned on either side. The energy is very palpable and the playing is just super simple. That classic punk aggression from the guitars is so perfect for what Pyncher do best; it's all about showcasing singer Sam Blakeley's words and showing off sonically rather than musically. That isn't to say the playing is sloppy or anything, in fact it's really tight and helps to keep the momentum of the track chugging along.

The vocals actually remind me a little of Marc Bolan, something in the way they're tracked and treated, which immediately I loved. There are little whispers all around, unsettling you slightly, and the feeling only grows as the chorus hits. Musically, nothing changes much but suddenly in come these backing vocals which sound like something you'd hear on Sonic Youth's Kool Thing. It all helps to hit home the message of the track: wanting something you had, or thought you had. That feeling of lament is so evident in the vocal melody, tilting purposely downwards at the end of every phrase, almost moaning the words.

And then, out of nowhere, there's a huge change in feel. Armed with shuffley, brushed snare drums, mouth trumpets and a telephone-style vocal mix, Pyncher switch it up for the middle-eight and lean into the McCartney-esque ditty. It's here that they spell out the story of the girl from the petrol station breaking his heart and telling him to move on. There's poignancy, particularly in the line "she said maybe some things/are best left in the past", and you can genuinely feel for him. You can tell that it was written initially on an acoustic guitar as there's an emotional rawness to it. It's sweetly sad and obviously tonally at odds with the music - and it's all done with Pyncher's signature tongue-in-cheek wit. Who knew you could blend heartfelt lyricism with tin cans?

And then we're back; the track racing away just as it came in, before coming to a standstill.

As I've already referenced, there is a fair amount of Sonic Youth in the here, which in my mind is only ever a good thing. You can still hear the bubbling underground excitement that they bring to their live shows but the whole thing seems somehow more complete and polished than any of their previous efforts. For me, the Chew EP will be missed but Get Along serves as an equally fantastic platform from which to dive into this genre-bending four-piece.

Pyncher describe the song as a 'blend of personal reflection and social insight, an anthem for those searching for their place in an ever-changing world'. We agree, but would distill that further and describe it as 'very fucking good'.

Listen to Get Along here.