Nature abhors a vacuum and following Morrisey’s recent personal revelations regarding his loathsome political affiliations and beliefs that broke the hearts of stupefied punk rockers around the globe, she stepped into the breach and in an attempt to seal the former Smith’s frontman sized hole in a million souls, Nature gave the world Sleave.

Taking the musical blueprint that the Smiths laid down more than three decades ago, Slave add a ton of musical muscle and punk rock credibility to their Manchester infused music by incorporating the energy, passion and fire of Face to Face, Propagandhi and Hot Water Music into their already infectious sound. Homebound is the sort of tune that the Smiths would have written if they’d been angry punks, had balls the size of watermelons and weren’t afraid to step into the breach and embrace everything that was good about life while rallying against everything that is inherently evil.

This tune has been on constant repeat for the last hour, and if their forthcoming album is even half as good as Homebound promises it will be, then folks we could be looking at a sure-fire contender for album of the year. But until said album does drop, sometime during August, you’ll just have to make do with Homebound. It’s tough to be a punk when the soundtrack to the punk rock life is this good, isn’t it? Tim Cundle

Homebound is available from Itunes and Amazon now