Many bands form and immediately strike while the irons hot. They rush into Single releases and throw albums together creating a collections of singles, rather than articulating a battle of resilience and late night kitchen conversations.

To me, ‘Little Death Project’ isn’t just an album or a body of work forced upon you by ‘algorithms’ and ‘for you’ pages, but a story of resilience and an unbreakable bond of theraputic storytelling.

Formed in the sinking docklands of Southampton over ten years ago, Dead Freights haven’t followed a linear path towards their debut album release, but that’s what makes it so uniquely “Freights”. Rough around the edges and equal part tongue-in-cheek and nuanced, emphatic wordplay.

Frontman Charlie James and drummer Louis Duarte have been an ever present force in each version of the band. Brogan Turner has solidified himself as the dark horse missing from the ranks until recent years. His baselines pack a punch, exactly what James and Duarte needed to create their best music yet.

Titling the album ‘Little Death Project’ represents the notion of putting previous fallouts and history behind them, and pushing into a new age for the band. It plays on the French idiom “La petite mort” which refers to brief loss or weakening of consciousness. This album is the project that survived many small deaths along the way.

It’s released on 25 Hour Convenience Store, Gary Powell of The Libertines’ record label, and was recorded at Station 65 by Boof Tuesday.

Charlie James told Songbird HQ “Even though the band come through different carnations it’s the album we always set out to make.”

He continues “Myself and Louis (Duarte) have been down the road and had conversations of if we should continue or not, but no we’re here, and we snubbed any opportunity for compromise on this album.”

The album opens with Turner’s booming bass. It slaps you in the face and immediately tells you this album needs to be turned right up, rippling the speakers and shaking the floor. Veterans of Dead Freights live shows will be familiar with ‘Cuck and Roll’.

To me it offers a self-deprecating glimpse at the Rock ‘n’ Roll industry and lifestyle, trading the euphemistic rebellion for an on-lookers view of the historical tropes.

The album continues with an ode to Southampton. The poetically brilliant ‘Blitzed Town Bop’ showcases James at his best. He croons softly over the rhythm section of Duarte and Turner. This reimagining of their incredible live song is led by powerful, distorted lyrics.

The Southampton trio always have a fiery and energetic end to their lives shows, which is usually the fast-paced and explosive ‘Bat Man’. James usually lets the crowd into the moment that shaped the song. Walking home from a night out, chased by a man wielding a baseball bat.

The batman themed guitars and drums roar into action as he begins “Just trying to walk home won’t you leave me alone, but no. Batman”. This new iteration of the track has grittier, punchier guitars than the previously released live version. It’s the same track, just turned up.

The fourth song on the album, is the final previously unreleased hit ‘She’s The Disease’. Again Turner thunders into a dirty, bone-shaking bassline. This is one of the heavier tracks on the album. It’s the sort of song you turn up to full volume and allow the noise wash over you.

The album continues with the cheeky ‘How Much To Call Me Daddy’ in a slightly reworked version from its original release. This fades perfectly into titular track ‘Little Death Project’, which was released as the final single in the build up to the album, in January. There’s grit, swagger and the classic Charlie James playful lyrics.

Fellow single ‘Do The Gruesome’ is sandwiched either side of 2024’s Fury Tapes EP tracks ‘Shot Girl Summer’ and ‘Asking For A Friend’.

This doesn’t feel like a B-side to the album but the continuation of the earlier tracks. Both hits from the EP have been given a facelift. It feels like the trio shedding off the skin of past events, ripping off the plaster of previous pain and pushing the music into a new generation.

‘Little Death Project’ isn’t quite done there. It ends with a bang. A gothic, macabre reworking of their 2024 hit ‘Sauvignon Blanc’. It has haunting textures and a reverberating soundscape, a snapshot of their younger, energetic days twisting into something far more sinister and cinematic.

This band have been through ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and the fact this album exists is already a huge achievement in itself. It’s finally a full circle moment in the convoluted, meandering past of Dead Freights tale.

Those who knew them in their early blues inspired theme, into the garage rock sound might be startled at this visceral incarnation of the trio. However, it feels natural. This is where they truly belong. Loud and daunting.

I’m incredibly proud to see these songs evolve from rehearsal rooms and small venues into the crushing anthems they have become. ‘Little Death Project’ is a rebirth. They’ve traded their youthful frantic energy for gothic maturity and it begs to be heard.

For the audience: Turn it up loud. Bask in it. Give it a chance to breathe and spin it multiple times. The best parts are hidden in the shadows.

As for Charlie, Louis and Brogan: Thank you for not giving up when things got tough and grim. This is a triumph of persistence, of brotherhood and of your dedication to the art you produce. You did it.

Review by Brad Halcrow

Images by Harry Bahia