When a band advertises themselves as crossing genres, their reasoning and chosen styles can sometimes appear quite obvious. The world has seen a vast amount of rap metal and ska punk blends. The marriage between country and rock is a hugely natural one, and also the decision to give folk a bit more muscle with the assistance of indie and rock often works really smoothly. What if a band decided to chuck a load of different styles together without any thought to how naturally they would work together? Chances are, you’d discover a musical landscape like the one inhabited by Finnish musicians Super Glue Anxiety – a band who aren’t easing anyone into a world of weird gradually, but choosing to hit their audience between the ears with a cocktail of oddity on their debut album with zero regard for commercial potential.

In terms of highlights, ‘Welcome To Anxiety’ really shows off this band’s desire to be different. Opening with a mechanical loop and an accordion, it doesn’t hold back on a carnival-esque oddness, but once the elements of They Might Be Giants meeting with a horror cartoon soundtrack have made their mark, the band increases the tempo to steer the strange anti-folk into a folk punk direction, before twisting again to introduce a descending guitar riff straight from the doom metal stratosphere. Moving back into the folk punk for a second verse, the tempo is increased, frantic rhythm guitar work adds a skiffle like tone, then, at the point where you’ve assumed everything is settled, the main melody falls away and a piano line drops into a classic salsa, evoking a busy afternoon in Brixton Nando’s. There’s actually a chorus here, but everything else is so frenetic, it doesn’t register immediately. Even when it does, the manic folk oddness ensures it’s actually the least important element of this insanely busy four minutes.

‘Raiding England’ sounds like an obvious relation to that track since the folk punk elements remain the big draw and more accordions are called upon to flesh out the sound. Ensuring it sounds very different, though, guitarist Sami Räikkönen drops in a whole selection of sharper, punkier riffs, whilst a weird horn based interlude derails everything, taking the musicians into a world of oddness. There are still some great twists here, but there’s also a feeling that the slightly more direct approach means SGA actually know what they’re doing. Approaching something with even more of a punk bias, ‘Walking Nightmare’ cranks the guitars, but instead of opting for Ramones influences or a standard jagged pop punk approach, the punk edge is fused with metallic elements, bringing things much closer to a 90s era Misfits, but with an even bigger crunch. It’s an approach that really works, giving an accented vocal a really huge backdrop to work with. The most interesting thing here is the track’s unexpected middle eight where a blast of horns changes the band’s approach rather dramatically, giving the arrangement an extra edge. A couple of plays will also uncover a really catchy hook. Although, like most of the album, the listener is sometimes expected to work a little harder to glean enjoyment, in crossover terms, this is a blast.

‘Dead Witch’ takes a very different turn, and after something that sounds like a ska band playing a pirate jig, the band shifts into a place where a grinding bass sound obtains its strength through a gothic influence and a choir of voices adds atmosphere. This is very clearly two ideas welded down the centre, but somehow it works. Returning to the original buoyant melody, a bigger vocal latches onto a repeated refrain about kissing wiccan corpses, before everything gives up, and some unexpected percussion adds a coda that sounds (at worst) like a couple of schoolkids let loose on some shakers, or (at best) a not fully realised film score for a piece of 50s noir. Strange. ‘Unresolved Homicide’, meanwhile, sounds like old school schlager with a Finnish accent, which in terms of coolness, does the band no real favours. That said, it’s a perfect fit for this sometimes chaotic managerie of noise, and although the blend of accordions and half buried vocals veers towards novelty territory, once you’ve tuned into the SGA sound, it’s not without merit. It probably shouldn’t have been chosen as the album’s opening track, but then, this band haven’t exactly taken the easy route when it comes to being creative…

Perhaps one of the best examples of SGA throwing everything they’ve got into a musical cement mixer, ‘Evil Turtle’ kicks off with a few industrial noises, wanders through a slow and heavy rhythm whilst a threatening vocal sneers against a dub reggae bass, and ends up in a place where classic 80s thrash metal riffs are intercut with passages where circus like melodies are played on something that sounds like a child’s toy xylophone. During the latter part of the track, when returning to the slow, dub-like groove, things take a different turn again when a soul inspired vocal adds a counter melody, before everyone attacks the metal riff at full pelt. This could be accused of trying too hard, yet at the same time, its sheer bonkersness allows it to be one of the album’s best tracks – providing you like Mr. Bungle.

A little more sedate, ‘Celtic Jazz’ hits hard with some superb ska influenced brass work, and even though a vaguely novelty approach to vocals could offset everything, a distorted metal riff allows for a relative balance, and a previously released single ‘Tricksy Goes To Party’ blends 80s pop and new wave with classic metal riffs and another compliment of brass. This, more than any other track on the album, sounds like a band taking the piss – particularly since they seem to be singing about a dog at one point and dropping outdated phrases like “riding with my homies” without shame. The vocals are also terrible (perhaps deliberately), but thanks to more great brass and an interesting metal/ska blend, they just about get away with being so silly. Just about.

Lurching from genre to genre, sometimes without an obvious reason, this album should be a mess. Especially so, considering these guys don’t quite possess the sheer balls of someone like Mike Patton when it comes to bewildering the alternative music scene. However, approached with caution and by cherry picking tracks according to your mood, over time, ‘First Row Seats’ can offer a really fun listen. It’s a record where some solid musicianship and great sounds can be found, even if anything remotely catchy takes a back seat a lot of the time. For lovers of Dog Fashion Disco, arty punk and genuinely alternative metal, it’s definitely worth checking out, even if its perceived novelty aspects mightn’t lead to long term enjoyment.

May/September 2025