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With Tiña’s poignant, soul-searching Positive Mental Health Music, cult label Speedy Wunderground make their full-length release debut. A first on two fronts - for Tiña, and for Speedy after 7 years of 7” and compilation releases - this eleven-track confessional is a neat experiment in production and songwriting: a body of incisive, careful and caring grunge music.

You’ll have heard a few of the tracks on Positive Mental Health music already. ‘I Feel Fine’ was a Speedy production, released only last year, while ‘Dip’, ‘Rosalina’ and ‘Golden Rope’ followed. In these hits, Tiña set their precedent: making wholesome grunge that you can dance to. On their album, the band expand that remit to include psychedelia, indie, pop and post-punk, all of it serving to channel the very personal yet wholly universal struggles of songwriter Josh Loftin, who wrote many of these songs to work through a mental breakdown.

‘Rosalina’ and ‘I Feel Fine’ slope, then skip along like the dark hopefulness of a recovering depressive while ‘Rooster’ slowly raises its head from its shoes to the wide open sky, drums and guitar opening up from Joshua Loftin’s falsetto. What these cuts demonstrate is Tiña's knack of holding pain and the hope together in one space. 

'Golden Rope' continues the experiment, exploring suicidal ideation through lighthearted noodling and splashy percussion while 'It's No Use' enters a minor key to represent those terrifying moments of mental illness when hope bolts completely. Cleverly however, backing vocals join the titular line towards its end, representing that our suffering is never completely isolated, no matter how much it may feel so. 'Closest Shave' meanwhile, examines the boring elements of suffering - "I almost cut off my own head" Loftin sings in a despondent deadpan before whirling keys offer a spike of hope again.

Though dabbling in different paints, what all of these songs have in common is their dedication to telling the truth. In pursuit of that end, Tiña recorded Positive Mental Health Music directly to tape; analogue unspools warmly and honestly in a ribbon of brave confessionals. Presented as these confessionals are on bright, often bubblegum riffs and thoughtful, memorable compositions, Tiña have hit on a formula that is both unique and accessible.

"Everyone I know is doing better than me" Loftin sings on opener and standout 'Buddha', which tracks like that meme of the dog feeling just "fine" as his house burns around him. In this track as in all the others, Positive Mental Health Music opens up with every listen, revealing new lyrical gems - a relatable moment here, a laugh-out-loud aside there - as it tracks through the ups and downs of owning a human brain.

Positive Mental Health Music is out now via Speedy Wunderground.

More about: tina