The Spook School – Try To Be Hopeful

“We need you to know that we exist,” sing The Spook School. It’s a sentiment which could come from the mouth of any band ever, but in the hands of the Edinburgh punk rock four-piece it cuts a little differently. Try To Be Hopeful dissects identity, fidelity, romantic despair, romantic bliss and a multitude of other fuzzy grey confusing feelings with a radical, radical tongue. “Every band talks about love and stuff!” we hear you cry, but nah, they don’t. Not like this.

You might even think that punk bands pissing on the patriarchy is old hat, but The Spook School do a mind-bogglingly fantastic job at demonstrating how frank, honest appraisal of gender and sexuality is still worryingly incendiary – and worryingly rare.

So, when you listen to Try To Be Hopeful with a proper, attention-paying ear, you’ll find a call to arms. A rallying cry encouraging you to speak up, to be heard, to exist in whichever way you feel most at home. To burn masculinity, to smash binaries and to have a life-affirming, wholly hopeful knees-up while you’re at it.