Formed in 2018 from the ashes of the British post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by Owen Williams and George Nicholls, The Tubs return with their highly anticipated debut album, Dead Meat. Resplendent with hi-fi strum and thrum, the album incorporates elements of post-punk and jangle indie, but the band's penchant for traditional British folk and Canterbury folk-rock takes a notable step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention clash with Williams' acerbic lyrics, steering the character of the "thoughtful libertine" in a Bryan Ferry direction towards a darker horizon. Tracks like "Round The Bend" and "Duped" soar with a strummed urgency reminiscent of a young, fiery Richard Thompson, while the second half of the album settles into a bitter resignation. The re-recordings of "I Don't Know How It Works," "Two Person Love," and "Illusion" (presented here as "Illusion Pt. II") add to the urgency. The band has never been tighter or more dynamic, with vocal contributions from Lan McArdle (Ex-Vöid, ex-Joanna Gruesome) complementing the whole.