Some wise man or other once said to “write about what you know” and Death Of The High Street were taking note, their output to this point being a catalogue of post-punk musings from the mind of frontman Scott Baxter, a stockpile of philosophies and observations from their Derby locale, or maybe their local in Derby? ‘Chancer’ is the latest instalment, their first since being freshly signed to new label Bubblebrain Records, and as we’ve come to expect from these lads, they’re as razor sharp and impassioned as ever.
Guitars bound between art-rock angular and a downright filthy punk riff, providing a gritty backdrop for the tale as Baxter embarks on a discourse about a grubby little individual, described by the band as “a Frank Gallagher meets Del Boy character who’ll sell you a TV just as soon as he’s lifted it from your living room”, the first half of the song build up his image of a power-wielding wide-boy blagging his way through his existence, disregarding anyone who ends up as collateral damage, but in a reflective second half we’re given a sombre, empathetic peek behind a damp-stained curtain that paints the same individual as a lonely, companionless shadow flicking nostalgically through old pictures on his phone, shooting up drugs with a TV playing silently in the background.
The jury’s still out on whether the ‘Chancer’ is entirely the creation of D.O.T.H’s imagination, a real-life someone who may have crossed them or a combo of the two, but the venom he’s stirred up certainly feels real.
‘Chancer’ is released TODAY, Saturday 5th November, on Bubblebrain Records, available to stream wherever you normally get your music.
The song’s video sees the group bring our anti-hero to life, flogging frying pans out of a wheelie bin, unsuccessfully trying to hustle a wised-up regular in a pub at Connect 4 and ending up passed out and pissed up in his bedsit. You can watch it below: