REVIEW: The Meffs - Business
THE MEFFS have undoubtedly delivered a riotous party and protest on their second full-length album Business - that may sound a little cliche, but damned if it’s not true. Business goes hard from the get-go and refuses to let up as the duo take aim at everyone and everything that’s wrong in society, their refusal to become disillusioned evident as they instead channel their bewilderment and dismay at the world into heavily distorted riffs, an onslaught of drums, and gritty dual vocals.
Recorded in-between back-to-back festival slots and one-off shows throughout 2025, THE MEFFS have continued to steam ahead with a whirlwind EU tour, a jampacked 2026 festival season ahead of the album release, and an eased comedown of select UK dates to celebrate their monumental year. Having shared the stage with legendary punk and rock bands, THE MEFFS are proudly accepting the torch of politically-charged, feisty punk and waving it high with Business.
Racing drumbeats from Lewis Copsey kick off opener Dreamin’ before vocalist and guitarist Lily Hopkins sings in staccato fashion “feed the formula, feed the beast”, her harsh, prolonged screams of “dreamin’” ringing out with Copsey adding in gruff shouts of his own that add to the acerbic tones prevalent throughout Business. What A Nightmare drops in pitch and kicks in with distortion so heavy and grainy the chords are almost impossible to discern, but Hopkins ensures her disdain for the “brainwashed” public choosing the same backwards mindsets and leaders in an exhausting cycle, bellowing “so open your eyes” before giving a hearty scream over the biting drumbeat. The pace picks up for Where Did It All Go Wrong? in a wonderfully punk-rock rhythm that demands to be moshed to regardless of where you are, repetitions of “where did it all go wrong” rising to a throaty scream and emotional release.
Title track Business smashes in like a freight train with Hopkins delivering acidic lyrics as she sneers at THE MEFFS real-life experience with the music industry telling them they’re “not hard enough, not soft enough, not queer enough…we don’t fit their mould, we’re ok with that”, venomous riffs and beats giving weight to their refusal to change themselves just to fit in with what the industry expects. Law still carries an undercurrent of punk sounds and attitude, but there are hints of modern rock in the catchy guitar rhythms and exuberant drums, a tinge of hardcore injected into the chorus growls. Fight is as chaotic as you would expect, with only 30 seconds to make its stand on the album as one of the most volatile tracks, frenetic instruments warring with Hopkins’ and Copsey’s dual vocals for a song that is guaranteed to incite a mass of whirling fists and limbs.
Disorder (Wake Up) blends more hardcore elements with grunge-punk for a menacing track with tasty guitar flairs and pulverising beats as Hopkins screams “wake up wake up, who’s the enemy? Wake up wake up, it’s not you. It’s not me.” and demands that people start using their free will to think for themselves and see what’s literally happening in front of them. Love To Lose ramps up the speed again whilst maintaining the pitched down and punchy beats that show the duo aren’t to be fucked around with, the words a scathing attack on someone constantly making themselves the victim in everyone’s story. So Modern (Keep Up) features a borderline punk-rock riff that runs alongside a crushing bass line and Hopkins’ increasingly frustrated screams of keeping up with changing times, Copsey echoing the sentiments in the background with a sardonic “she’s so modern” on the bridge.
God Complex has a cowbell. Enough said. By far one of the biggest earworms on the record, this track continues the same vein as its counterparts as it takes aim at people getting too big for their boots and needing a swift kick to bring them back down to earth, harmonised cries of “who are you? Nobody cares” rising throughout. Closing out with Like Gravity and its annihilating drums that crash into a gloriously relentless wall of sound, Hopkins doesn’t let up to the end of Business as she continues to roar primally over her searing riffs, making it clear to the final notes that this is not an album for the thin-skinned, but certainly for the determined ones.
Score: 8/10
Business was released on 11th September 2026 via FLG.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Jean Jeanie
Comments