London’s genre-blurring outsiders Healthy Junkies return to turntables with the first vinyl release of their fifth album, Listen to the Mad – a raw, stylishly chaotic blend of punk, glam, goth and psych that proves they’re still very much leading the DIY pack. Originally released digitally, the album now gets the full wax treatment courtesy of supercool indie label Punk Fox, pressed on bold red vinyl (with a rare-as-hens’-teeth pink/black/grey splatter edition for the collectors).
Formed in 2010 by French-born frontwoman Nina Courson and guitarist Phil Honey-Jones, the Junkies quickly became a fixture on the UK underground punk scene, racking up gigs with everyone from The Rezillos and Sham 69 to Theatre of Hate. They’ve built a cult following the old-school way – relentless touring, DIY releases, and unfiltered passion. Listen to the Mad is a distillation of everything they’ve become: messy in the best way, vulnerable but defiant, catchy as hell.
Opening with the pounding theatricality of ‘Desire’ and winding through the dream-goth elegance of ‘Dead Souls’ and the punked-up nihilism of ‘Tinnitus’, the album rarely lets up.
‘Julie’s Got a Job’ drips with wonky glam attitude, all warped guitars and sass. ‘Solitaire’ slows things down into a swaying, melancholic groove, while ‘Son and Daughter’ goes full dub-punk with skanking beats and a righteous bassline. ‘Media Whore’ takes aim at social media’s vapid performativity with snarling guitars and snarlinger vocals. And ‘Now or Never’ feels like a rallying cry – the kind of song you want blaring through your headphones on a rainy walk to nowhere in particular.
The band say the album was “made for the sake of our own sanity,” and you can hear that urgency in every riff and raw vocal take. This isn’t a record chasing trends – it’s punching through them. There’s no posturing here, just dirty truth, dressed up in platform boots and eyeliner.
Grab a copy from Healthy Junkies’ website