10 Best Manchester Albums Of The 2010s
7. Hardship Starship - Not Hot Ashes (2019)
The most recent entry on the list, Hardship Starship is the quintessential album about being a post-millennial teen in Manchester. If that description sounds too niche, well... thankfully the sound certainly isn’t. Hardship Starship's space theme allows a fusion of funk and disco influences in this heartfelt debut.
Tongue-in-cheek run-ins with the law, being broke and crap nights out. Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys set the pathway for all British indie bands to discuss these topics since 2006, but it is the peppering of more mature themes in with this youthful sound which sets No Hot Ashes apart.
Brexit-infused anger is channeled and belted on Indecision/Intermission, while the band mix rap with stadium anthem chanting in the manifesto track for a better life in ISH-KA.
Years of chaotic live shows full of inflatables and colour built up their reputation, but Hardship Starship stands out on itself with open arms to new fans.
A fresh pick from the burgeoning Stockport indie scene.