{"id":13734,"date":"2026-01-16T14:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T14:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=13734"},"modified":"2026-06-06T14:39:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T13:39:31","slug":"filthy-militia-aim-for-ska-punks-top-table-with-debut-album-high-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=13734","title":{"rendered":"Filthy Militia aim for ska-punk’s top table with debut album High Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ALBUM REVIEW: Filthy Militia – High Ground (Pookout Records)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Filthy Militia<\/strong> are a seven-piece ska-punk band formed in North London in 2016, and this is their debut album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have released two EPs, 2018’s Innocent Until Proven Filthy<\/em> and 2022’s Coping Mechanism<\/em>, but High Ground<\/em> consists of nine brand new tracks which blend punk, dub, skacore and metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s produced, mixed and mastered by Oz Craggs (Call Me Malcolm, Riskee & The Ridicule, Dog Rotten), who’s made a fine job of making sure all the instruments can be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s 40+ minutes of top-notch music which should appeal to fans of bands like Random Hand, Jaya The Cat, The Skints and Faintest Idea, and they sound like they’ll be enormous fun live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Ground <\/em>expands on their trademark sound, with lots of choppy, upstroke guitar and a lively brass section consisting of trumpet, trombone and sax. They’ve also added a second guitar to their guitar-bass-drums set-up, and sound all the better for it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Things kick off with slow-burner 24-7<\/em>, before Making Myself Clear<\/em> lifts the tempo, with the jaunty brass section coming into its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead single I Don’t Know You But I Love You<\/em> is an insanely catchy celebration of making new friends at gigs. I’m sure we can all identify as Frosty sings: “I don’t know you but I love you, I’m sure we’re the best of friends, Let’s go sink a pint or two, before I forget your name again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anywhere Here Is Fine<\/em> starts off as a dub song, and morphs into a completely different beast, complete with post-hardcore breakdown, while Splitting Hairs<\/em> takes it easy through the verses before exploding into a real moshpit igniter for the choruses.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Filthy Militia do the mid-song change of pace well; the flamenco-tinged When The Party’s Over’s<\/em> lollops along nicely before a spirited denouement, while Liability<\/em>, which sounds like Spunge, is a super slice of ska-core, and a standout track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The excellent Never<\/em>, also a single, is another high octane stomper, with a great sax solo, and things are brought to an epic close with six-minute title track High Ground<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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