I’m late to writing this. Maybe fittingly so. The Things You Don’t Know Yet is an album about timing, missed moments, delayed reckonings, the strange rhythm between growing up, and growing apart. Bristol’s brilliant four-piece, Adult Leisure have spent the past few years perfecting that space between nostalgia and the now. It’s where the past hums in the background like an old song one half remembers but nonetheless can’t quite stop humming.
When I first heard “Boy Grows Old,” I didn’t take notes. I just sat there. The saxophone from John Waugh (of The 1975 and Sam Fender fame) didn’t feel like an embellishment but a conscience. The band never glamorises youth. They strip it of its nostalgia. The song breathes with clarity and is honest enough to admit that growing up doesn’t always mean growing wise.
Then there’s “See Her”. The breakup track that feels like a grin after heartbreak. It’s all swagger and shrug, with Neil Scott delivering that perfect smirk of a line between exhaustion and freedom. It’s pop without the need to prove itself. It’s hooky, sharp, and self-aware enough to walk away from the wreckage of breakup with rhythm still intact.
By the time “The Rules” arrived, I realised Adult Leisure has mastered the art of restraint. The duet with Jess Chivers feels like the last conversation before silence. It’s a dialogue caught between glittering synths and unresolved emotion. It’s nostalgic, but not indulgent. It reminds me of a photograph that tells one just enough and nothing more.
Shifting the tone entirely is “Kiss Me Like You Miss Her”. Its anger turned into a melody. It’s austerity made singable and a reminder that danceable tracks can still bleed with truth. Adult Leisure sings of choices no one should have to make, warmth, food, or dignity and yet the groove insists on defiance. It’s their most political track, but also their most human.
And then, of course, “Dancing Don’t Feel Right” is the sound of rebellion dressed as release. The bassline thumps with temptation, the drums refuse to settle, and Neil sounds like he’s daring himself as much as the listener. It’s a song that understands indulgence not as escape, but as survival.
Maybe that’s why my lateness to the review feels right. Adult Leisure’s music unfolds in its own time. It’s an instant reaction but also the kind you feel more deeply with every listen. These songs aren’t chasing virality, though they are all viral. They’re tracing memories and each track feels like a mirror held up not to youth, but to the moment you realise it’s behind you.
The Things You Don’t Know Yet is an album for those who’ve learned that knowing often arrives too late and maybe that’s the point.
Album Artwork by Steph Dutton
