Autonomy. Stone

Stone is a band that can only come from the U.K. It has that kind of swagger in its music and presentation that British bands are so good at. The music is a mix of many things that came before (and have gone) but still sounds so fresh.

Stone is from Liverpool. It started with the duo Fin Power (singer) and Elliot Gill (guitar) who met in 2016 and started their first band, The Bohos. In the next few years bass player Alex Smith and drummer Sarah Surrage join and Stone is a fact. The foursome kept honing their chops and here we are in 2026, with this energetic album.

What will you hear when you put on Autonomy? Alternative rock, with some pop and postpunk/wave. The, almost, title song 'Autonomous' could come from a Big Special album, e.g. The band has obviously heard Oasis and with that hidden hints of Beatlesque pop elements. Fin Power clearly has listened to Alex Turner's phrasing. It all went into Stone's blender and comes out as one, big raucous musical surprise.

Listen to how much fun a song like 'Freezing' is. It is the last song on the album. Instead of it being a tucked away filler, it is more like a mission statement. The band uses dynamics and reticence as if it has done so on the whole album; not! Here it plays with the space a mix offers and with the art of less is more. The only one not holding back is singer Fin Power. He's spewing words all over the place and finds a spot for such a nice chorus as well. If what comes next has the quality of 'Freezing', the second album will be even better than Autonomy.

Promo photo

Admittedly, Autonomy in some places is better at showing enthusiasm than that it presents great songs. Most songs are good and some tend towards more. A band producing its debut album ought to show a lot of enthusiasm. It was able to work for years on these songs (and ideally has some kept behind for the future). Stone brings it all to its first album and convinces.

The album's title song opens the album and shows all what the band is about. You can pick out your own favourite Britpop band as inspiration, I could pick a few even. But listen to that guitar doing that did-a-did-a-did-a-did sound. For some reason it appeals so much to me. And Fin Power has a great vocal melody going on there. The world has its Britpop anthem for the 20ties, I'd say.

Submerge into the musical world Stone presents and I'm convinced you will come out on the other side of Autonomy fully invigorated. Stone rules here.

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