Jodie Langford opens 2025 with I See Only Red, a track that doesn’t knock—it kicks down the door. It arrives furious and wide-eyed, like something summoned from the fevered edge of sleep, where fear becomes form and shadow becomes story. Langford, Hull’s high-voltage spoken word firestarter, remains unmatched in her alchemy: punk attitude, rave momentum, and razor-edged lyricism, all swirled into a Molotov cocktail of brilliance that explodes on impact.
With longtime collaborator Endoflevelbaddie fanning the flames from behind the desk, I See Only Red doesn’t so much build as it erupts—dragging the listener into the stifling stillness of sleep paralysis. It’s a soundscape steeped in menace: throbbing basslines pulse like an unquiet heart, synths flicker like faulty lights in a haunted room, and Langford’s voice slices through the gloom with knowing venom. Her delivery is fierce and sardonic, but never without that familiar glint of mischief, like she’s narrating the horror from just outside its reach.
Having set stages ablaze at The Great Escape and alongside the likes of Get Down Services and Wench!, Langford’s live-wire presence finds its echo here—chaotic, unfiltered, alive. I See Only Red doesn’t pretend to be tidy. It rejects gloss in favour of something more vital: immediacy, instinct, a pulse in the dark.
The track feels freshly unearthed, not manufactured—each word a spark, each beat a tremor. Langford and Endoflevelbaddie don’t craft songs so much as conjure them. And this one? This one burns.
Review by Thomas Imposter