The irate and gloomy sounds of Cleveland, London, Stoke-on-Trent, and any other hub of negative reinforcement in-between, needs a soundtrack to get across a message that words could never convey. ‘Second to None’ from infamous London Straight Edge band Payday, est. 2016, is one such soundtrack, giving no space for a breather whilst providing a realisation that life is for living on the edge now or never, and never is not an option. From the opening title track to the crawling ‘Are You Alone?’, that holds on with scraping nails as it fades slowly into oblivion, Payday provide lessons learned from growing up in The Big Smoke. Vocalist Marco Abbatiello lets you know that any slip ups will prove fatal, such as on Touch Ah Button, a nod to the UK Hip Hop classic of the same name, as dive bombs soar to heights that will make any sellout reach for their nappies. The message may be obvious, the melee of influences to get it across is anything but for a straight edge band in 2019, such as Ringworm and Integrity. Whilst others shout about positivity, Payday are living in hell without the comfort of escapism, just cold, hard and ugly truths, such as on ‘The Maze’, ‘Whitewash I’ and ‘Whitewash II’. They ask the hard questions with your answers not wanted. Second to None by name and nature, the reality of your choices always fall at your feet.
