I had a good friend die in a silly drunk bike accident aged 17. While I know the lad popped his cherry and was loved by his girl at least, there hasn’t been a week go by since where I don’t wonder what life might have given this gifted brilliant beautiful lad, and whether he might have experienced the various sheer pleasures of life I’ve enjoyed.

There are of course many of us who as we go through life see gaps in photos where people should have been with us; on a mates holiday, moshing at a gig, a stag or hen party, a wedding photo, holding your first born, and the rest of it.

So a major scouge of pointless death is knife crime and West Yorkshire/ Manchester lads The Slates have tackled the subject head on, with their latest release Young Souls (Sam Teale Productions ‘Knives Claim Lives’) – to give the song its proper Sunday name.

Having written a bit myself, when writing about this stuff I know its really easy to fall into the trap of the mawkish or the obvious, but here The Slates nail it damn fine.

Rather than moralise, Young Souls is just about ignoring the hype, the big man syndrome, the “carry it just in case”, that certain people must be our enemy, the whole mindset and to stress that the only cut through we need to make is to chill and make sure we don’t risk our lives.

It’s a f’king waste for all. Be you dead, slashed, killer or killed.

I’ve long admired The Slates (haha, how many reviews!) and this track opens up another welcome aspect to the band. Usually breakneck speed, usually hedonistic with their lyrics of wild nights, this is a well considered tune with a balanced and serious message. Hot off a summer of sizzling gigs, this more serious tune hits hard.

This review isn’t about The Slates as much as I admire them for this song, and for showing a more serious side, it’s about realising we have a choice to be in control of knife crime.

* words by Tiggerligger

* images from the band’s socials