Capturing the familiar sentiment that comes with your teenage years alongside the heartbreak and relationship struggles that are also a part of youth, Public Order’s ‘Hello’ is a detailed journey through love, nostalgia and vulnerability.
The group’s sun-soaked debut single ‘Feels like summer’ has quickly launched the band onto introducing playlists and festival lineups even with only five tracks currently released. Although there are similarities across ‘Hello,’ we see the band branching out into a new, sincere territory, teasing what they are capable of.
Reminiscing being 19, drinking and smoking with your mates, first track ‘Joker’ is a youth ballad. Euphoric guitar and exhilarated drums craft a bliss, the same feeling as driving around with your friends in summer, roof down, no worries. As the song progresses the lead vocals are intoxicating, inviting you into their world of joy. Not all is utopia, the song begins slower like the group are sad that those days have passed but they quickly let go, detonating into the upbeat chorus where they seem thankful they got to experience it.
Infused with soul-stirring guitar riffs, thundering drums and lyrics depicting what can only be described as a toxic relationship, title track ‘Hello’ grabs every inch of your attention. “I’m better being on my own” singer David Ashraf brings a lonely feeling to the forefront of the track soon emphasised by a surge of fiery guitar. Cutting deeper than previous tracks, we begin seeing a new side to the group, bursting with influence from icons like The 1975 and The Stone Roses.
Moving onto ‘Someday,’ Public Order take a sudden turn into a more honest, acoustic sphere. I can already picture fans at their gigs claiming this as an arms in the air, crying along song. More peaceful with tranquil elements then their past discography, nearing the end confident guitar and passionate drums still weave their way into the song, maintaining the bands usual underlying indie-rock sound.
On closing track ‘Stranger’ the group do what they are best at, gradually building up a song, a particular craft that has listeners in sweats, waiting for the moment when the music will explode. A cocktail of hip-hop beats, electronic music and their usual sensational guitar riffs, ‘stranger’ is layered and unique. Contagious instrumentals create an image of the band in the recording studio, collapsed to their knees strumming their guitars at lightspeed. It almost feels like you’ve fallen into a vortex, surrounding you with an electrifying rhythm and chaotic drums. Entering a dancier zone, the track is perfectly placed, ending the EP with a mixture of genres.
Public Order: Hello – Out 28 March 2025 (Ignition Records)
