Liverpool’s STONE could have made a neat and tidy second album. After the well-documented fallout with Polydor Records and the noise around their debut Fear Life For A Lifetime, it would have been easy to retreat into something safer, more streamlined, something less… combustible.
Autonomy does the opposite. It sounds like a band who’d rather risk total excess than accept a career flying just above the radar by diluting their anger.
The title track doesn’t waste time. It’s tight, ever-so-slightly serrated, and set up around vocals that lean into Fin Power’s Scouse cadence rather than sanding it down. ‘Monkey See Monkey Do’ is twitchy and impulsive in an exciting way. That “birdy in my ear screaming ra-ta-ta-ta” refrain could have been irritating; instead it feels wired, like a YouTube rabbit hole you can’t turn away from at three in the morning.
Where their debut album sometimes felt eager to impress thematically, ‘Stack Up The Reasons’ feels more certain of itself. “There is no religion that makes my decisions” is a blunt line, but it works because the band don’t dress it up or try to explain it. The most revealing moment, though, is ‘Never Again’. “I won’t be your corporate whore” is hardly subtle – but subtlety clearly isn’t the aim here!
Not everything hits with equal force. The run through ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Sweet Heroine’ and ‘Picture’ blurs slightly, and the hooks are less distinct. But then ‘Money (Hope Ain’t Gone)’ snaps it back into focus. It’s the record’s strongest chorus, and I can proudly declare that STONE feel genuinely musically accomplished at this point. “We all crave to be free / Hope ain’t gone” is simple, but because it’s delivered with conviction, it sticks.
By the time ‘Freezing’ draws things to a close, Autonomy earns its recognition. It’s louder, heavier and more self-possessed than its predecessor, and crucially, it’s showing signs that Britain could be about to witness the ascent of a band who will play real role in shaping live music culture in years to come.
