On My Playlist: Top 5 The Futureheads songs

I have always had an affinity for English Indie/post-punk bands. In the 2000s, The Futureheads were one of the top gems in this genre with their catchy songs and unique music style.
The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, consisting of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar), David “Jaff” Craig (bass guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums).
Honourable mentions: “First Day”, “Hounds of Love”, “Robot”.
5. The Beginning of The Twist
The guitar work in this track is exemplary and showcases the band at its finest.
The hi-hat beats from Hyde in the verses are fantastic with some great flow in between.
The chorus: “I can feel it; I conceal it. Beginning of the twist. I can feel it; I conceal it. I can feel it coming, the beginning of the twist,” is catchy and visceral and adds to the full sound of the band at their best.

4. Heartbeat Song
This is probably one of the band’s most quirky, romantic songs, which looks at the emotions of falling in love and all the experiences that go with it. The combined guitar work from Hyde and Millard works well on this track and adds a fantastic sunshine vibe to the melody.
“When we speak, I find it hard to think straight, especially when there’s no one else around.
When we touch, it’s impossible to concentrate. Bright lights everywhere like I’m floating in the air.”

3. Skip to The End
This is another top song from The Futureheads which looks at the possibility of looking into the future, to know if you should start with a relationship or not.
The music is well written and adds to the track with another fantastic guitar lick.
“If I could cheat, I would skip to the end and decide if it’s worth going through with, Skip to the last, paragraph, just before we start, To see the happy ending or the broken heart,” sings Millard.

2. Meantime
Millard’s Sunderland accent hits home in these story-like lyrics in the intro, especially when he sings “funny”.
The best part of the track is the bass line from Craig and the accompanying guitar work from Hyde.
The song flows brilliantly and the lively guitar gives it a positive vibe: “It’s easy, to try. It’s easy, any time. We can talk, if we like. Let’s forget it for the meantime. False conversations, a waste of time, false conversations.
It’s not interesting to have false conversations.
“You’ve stolen all your stories and I don’t have the patience”. Millard relates his experience of a false, failed conversation that turns into wasted minutes. There’s nothing as boring as a pretentious, meaningless conversation.

1. Decent Days and Nights
“This is a brand new problem, a problem without any clues.
If you know the clues, it’s easy to get through.”
These opening lyrics from Millard are some of the best-known vocal iterations in the genre and the guitar riff after the intro is one of the best, most recognisable parts.
The guitar riff is fantastic and the back-up vocals from the entire band give the song its unique quality.
“But you look confused and you don’t know what to do.
“It’s hard to get an answer when you haven’t got a clue. If you work it out, tell me what you find.”
The repeated “We can have a few (x3) decent days and nights,” in the chorus are one of the best parts of The Futureheads’ most recognisable track.
This is Indie rock at its finest. Quintessentially British.