MADDY JOSEPH reviews Moreish Idols’ debut album All in the Game, featuring exclusive comments from the band.

 

Released on March 7th, 2025, Speedy Wunderground’s Moreish Idols debut album All in the Game is an 11-track showcase of the band’s dynamic, expansive and experimental sound.

 

Originally hailing from Cornwall, the album delves into the band’s rural origins and transformation following their move to London. The band aimed to capture the essence of this shift in their debut album, relocating “to a mad place during an even madder time.” This desire to document a shared sense of chaotic purpose and fleeting impermanence drives their cross-genre experimentation. With the help of Dan Carey’s boundless and experimental production, Moreish Idols have crafted an immersive soundscape— a sonic blend of distortion-laden guitars, saxophone skronks, droning electronic beats, and layered vocals—transforming discord into a unified, compelling statement.

 

Exploring themes of existentialism, displacement, memory and loss, Moreish Idols have crafted a genre-defying sonic landscape that reflects the band’s growth and cohesion over the years. All in the Game is a reflection on how we spend our limited time, with bassist Caspar Swindells describing the album as an exploration of “time being spent, time being wasted, time slipping away, but also realizing that time is what you make of it”. The concept of time permeates the album’s production, with Dan Carey asking saxophonist Dylan Humphreys to perform the same sax part at varying tempos—recorded onto tape moving at different speeds for the title track. This palimpsestic manipulation of time infuses the music with a sense of both nostalgia and hope, looking forward while remaining encased in the past. Repeated throughout the second track “Railway”, lyrics like “She knows from this time, there ain’t no going back” underscore the centrality of time to the album’s narrative. The closing track “Time’s Wasting” offers an epilogue-like reflection, further emphasizing the theme of time’s elusive nature.

 

The album’s incremental and fluid production is mirrored in the band’s dynamic approach to vocals. This vocal technique effectively recreates the immersive, unified energy of their live performances by adding depth and texture to the overall sound. Each vocal layer, from the subtle harmonies to the more pronounced inflections, contributes to the sense of a cohesive sonic landscape. The varied vocal styles amplify the collective essence of the band, emphasizing the unity between the five members. This deliberate interplay of voices not only enhances the emotional resonance of each track but also reflects the tight-knit collaboration that has defined the band’s journey over the years. This technique also mirrors the collaborative approach the band takes to writing their music, creating magic through an entirely unified creative process. As frontman Jude Lilley says, “It’s just five mates really, all playing a role that is equally as important as the other”. The result is a rich, multidimensional sound that embodies the spirit of togetherness and shared purpose at the heart of Moreish Idols.

 

The album’s momentum remains engaging and unpredictable, starting with the slow-building intro track ‘Ambergrin’ before flowing into the lively, energetic ‘Railway’. The jazz-inspired interludes and raw vocals of ‘Sundog’ establishes a strong sense of classical instrumental and vocal harmony, only to be disrupted by the bold and experimental ‘ACID’. This album not only defines musical boundaries but also shatters them, offering a masterfully crafted, deft, and unassumingly complex compilation that showcases true instrumental and lyrical talent.

 

Drawing inspiration from bands like Pavement, Wilco, Broken Social Scene and Sonic Youth, Moreish Idols channels a raw, experimental energy throughout the album. The influence of Pavement’s lo-fi, angular sound and Sonic Youth’s dissonant, avant-garde approach can be felt in the album’s unorthodox structure and unpredictable sonic shifts. The track “Ambergrin” echoes the warm, textured sound of Wilco, with its melancholic yet expansive atmosphere. These influences are woven seamlessly into Moreish Idols’ own sonic identity, creating a dynamic mix of nostalgia and innovation that ties together past and present influences in a fresh and exciting way.

 

Moreish Idols’ All in the Game is a striking debut that captures the band’s unique sonic identity and evolution—an essential listen for anyone seeking innovative and immersive music.