Gulp! Sports Team

There's a faint recollection of a previous album that did not do a lot for me. The first single of Gulp! immediately resonated within me and here's Gulp! itself. The band easily fits in with a long string of U.K. bands that do not mind upsetting the apple cart. Bands that know how to combine, enthusiasm with a good, if not great melody. Starting somewhere in the 1960s right up to today, with Wet Leg firmly in the number 1 seat today as far as I'm concerned. Sports Team joins this line while bouncing up and down and refusing to stand still for a single second.

In a way it's surprising that bands still find the melodies and songs to stand out with. Sports Team has no issue with doing just that. It hovers somewhere between melodic, postpunk and alternative rock, so presents songs that are exciting and interesting in a few ways. You can sing along, dance, listen and be wondering, what is exactly going on here musically, all at the same time.

On top of that Sports Team has the sort of audacity only U.K. punkish bands have. Sounding so self-assured and as if they are the best band ever. It's an attitude that somehow comes with the better U.K. bands.

Sports Team is around since 2016 when the band's members met in Cambridge while at university there. This led to the debut album 'Deep Down Here' from 2020. It may be that I have to listen again to that album. If Gulp! is this good, it couldn't be truly bad, can it? A first impression depends on the mood at the time of listening and sometimes things go wrong then.

Singer Alex Rice has this great edge to his voice, setting him apart from most singers. He leads Sports Team no doubt this way. There's a voice in front of the band alright. The band is able to match him, creating music that is instantly noticeable. And, yes, I admit, there's nothing much new here but when presented in this great way, that's totally okay, as far as I'm concerned. Gulp! works in several ways "with just a little entertainment" to boot, as Rice sings in 'R Entertainment'. A song that could have been on the Wet Leg album without standing out for a second. And that's a huge compliment in my book.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Gulp! here:

https://sportsteamband.bandcamp.com/