The Tubs: Hard Life review | Alexis Petridis’s album of the week
Alexis Petridis reviews Hard Life, the third album by Welsh indie band the Tubs, in the Guardian's album of the week slot. The band, fronted by Owen Williams, have become unlikely critical darlings following their 2025 album Cotton Crown, earning praise from the heritage rock press and a New Yorker profile, despite sticking rigidly to an old-fashioned, pre-Madchester indie-rock sound rather than chasing current trends.
The review highlights the band's blend of distorted and 12-string guitars, violin flourishes reminiscent of the Go-Betweens, and melodic touches evoking Hüsker Dü, the Replacements and early REM. Williams's lyrics remain darkly comic and self-lacerating, touching on his mental health and his mother's suicide while also playing with an exaggerated, unlikeable persona, with some songs on Hard Life apparently voiced by a critical alter ego rather than Williams himself. Petridis calls the results "grippingly entertaining and frequently hilarious", buoyed by the album's bright, hooky, major-key music.
- Guardian reviews the Tubs' third album, Hard Life, as album of the week.
- Band sticks to old-school indie-rock sound despite growing critical acclaim.
- Frontman Owen Williams mixes dark, personal lyrics with sharp black comedy.
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The Tubs are a Welsh indie band led by Owen Williams, whose 2025 album Cotton Crown surprised many by winning them serious acclaim, including a profile in the New Yorker, at a time when guitar bands rarely make that kind of splash. Their appeal lies partly in refusing to chase current trends, instead sticking to a guitar-driven indie sound rooted in styles from decades past.
Hard Life is the band's third album, reviewed here by the Guardian's chief pop critic Alexis Petridis as his album of the week, a regular slot where he assesses a newly released record. Williams is known for lyrics that are darkly funny and highly personal, often drawing on his own struggles with mental health and family loss, sometimes filtered through exaggerated or unreliable narrators rather than straightforward autobiography.
The review matters to readers interested in independent guitar music because it explains why a band working in an unfashionable style has become such a critical favourite, and situates the new album within the influences and songwriting approach that built their reputation.