Getdown Services - Massive Champion (2026)
.I like the personality here more than I like all the songs.
“Poor Bannister” tells me almost everything immediately. Getdown Services are funny, rhythmically sharp, very British and not remotely interested in sounding polished in the conventional indie sense.
That is appealing.
“I Can’t Die Like That” and “Probiotic” continue the same idea: simple grooves, spoken or half-sung vocals, little absurd observations and enough disco/funk movement underneath to stop the whole thing becoming novelty music.
“Cha Cha Slide” is probably the first track where the balance starts to become slightly dangerous for me. The humour works, but I can already hear how dependent some of this music is on the personality of the delivery.
Once I know the joke, I need the song to remain.
“The Radiator” does.
It has a bit more space, more shape and enough dynamic movement that I stop thinking about the concept and just enjoy the track. That is why I still think it would probably be my favorite.
“The Definitive Map” is solid too. There is something almost LCD Soundsystem-like in the way the rhythm does most of the structural work while the vocal sits slightly sideways from it.
“A Crazy Story” is barely two minutes and benefits enormously from that. It appears, makes its point and disappears.
That is actually one of the album’s biggest strengths.
Editing.
Getdown Services know when to stop.
“What’s On Your Mind?” has one of the better grooves, while “Stop Living” benefits from being the one track allowed to stretch past four minutes. The extra time makes it feel less like a sketch.
“No One Likes Me” is funny and immediate, but again I am not sure how much of it I would want once the lyrical idea is familiar.
“Check The Definition” and “Lentils” push the album back toward the stranger art-pop side, and “600 Dance Lessons” is a suitably ridiculous little closer.
Nothing here is badly made.
Nothing is boring.
But those are relatively low bars.
The question for me is how many songs I would actively return to rather than simply enjoy while the album is playing.
Probably four or five.
That is enough for a good record.
Not enough for a very good one.
The band’s own description talks about translating their “live wire performances” into the album, and I can hear that. I suspect this material is considerably more exciting in a room with 500 people shouting along than through headphones on the third listen.
And that matters in the score.
Funny, energetic, very British and clearly its own thing. I enjoy the record, but the personality consistently outruns the songwriting.
Genre: Dance Punk
Country: UK
Final Verdict: 64% (Forgettable Album)
Yearly Ranking: 388th / 690
Highlight: The Radiator
Made me think of:
Yard Act
Baxter Dury
LCD Soundsystem
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