I Never Left, the title track from Those Fantastic Things’ debut album, is a classic three-minute pop song that takes you into the world of man-behind-the-band Paul Donnelly’s bitter take on his school life.

Replete with chunky, angry guitars and beat perfect rhythm section, I Never Left tells us of the ‘lies they fed us then’ and the ‘years I can never reclaim’ Donnelly hasn’t quite gotten over.

Paul Donnelly expresses “The song is the dark heart of the album, it’s why it’s the title track. Once we recorded it, the whole project made sense. We took something I wrote which was terse and weird from years ago, and turned it into something so in-your-face, immediate and fresh sounding. It was one of those moments when you know you’re on to something special”.

I Never Left

Why is pop such a dirty word? Those Fantastic Things prove it’s not, with an album of unbridled energetic songs that rarely exceed two and a half minutes.

I Never Left, produced and co-written by David Harry from 90s Dance band Oceanic, is jam packed with hooks, crisp drum beats and John Carpenter-esque synth sounds. Such is their commitment to a pop ethic, the 10 songs clock in at just under 30 minutes.

“It’s all about the chorus”, Paul Donnelly, the man behind the band says. “That’s why so often on the album, we start with it, or it comes in after 20 seconds. We’re not afraid to hammer it home”.

“There are meatier, longer songs like Malaise or I Wanna Go Home, but they don’t particularly hang around either. The singles aren’t shy in repeating the main phrase of the chorus and that’s because we didn’t want anybody in any doubt what song they’d just heard – nobody would listen to Don’t Feel, and wonder what the song is called afterwards.”

Themes on the album range from social media obsession, personal struggle and war and are often delivered with a shot of bile from Donnelly.

A shoestring budget, an underheated studio, health issues and a groundhog day recording schedule reflect the making of this album, but only add to the true commitment to the music.

“Pop to us means The Beatles on She loves you, it’s Echo and the Bunnymen on Rescue, it’s Nirvana on Teen Spirit. It’s basically a song with an easy to follow structure and a great chorus. That’s why we identify the album as pop”.

Whatever genre the album falls into, once you’ve entered the world of Those Fantastic Things, you may never want to leave.