THE PICCADILLY RECORDS ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2025
Manchester-based poet, writer and producer Antony Szmierek has announced the release of his debut album, Service Station At The End Of The Universe. The past few years have been a wild ride for the artist. Cutting his teeth on the Manchester spoken word scene and gaining notoriety for his seamless flow skewering everything from the hardships of contemporary British life to finding the unexpected beauty in the everyday, it was the 2023 release of his single ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Fallacy’ that kicked off his meteoric ascent. The earworming track soon found its way onto the BBC 6 Music airwaves and led Szmierek to be named an Artist of the Year 2023 by the station. There followed appearances on Later… with Jools Holland, a BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale session, multiple triumphant Glastonbury sets and a flurry of comparisons: to the pavement prose of The Streets, the poetry of John Cooper Clarke if he found himself at the Haçienda, or like Jarvis Cocker for the UK Garage generation.
Yet, with the release of his 2023 indie-influenced EP Poems To Dance To and now his banger-filled, dancefloor-focused debut album, Service Station at the End of the Universe, Szmierek cements his sound as one that is distinctly his own. While the album provides a culmination of the deep dancefloor poetry that began with ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Fallacy’, it also showcases a new side to Szmierek’s writing, producing moments of downbeat, dark poignance. The album produces a cohesive and infectious journey through pop melodic hooks and thumping dancefloor orchestrations.
A confident but gentle beta-male with the same insecurities and foibles as the rest of us. The polar opposite of the faux bravado of Old Manchester whilst still, somehow, possessing that patented swagger and our inability to take anything toooo seriously. Thoughtful, and with an acute awareness of the times in which we live. What I love about this particular album is, you feel Antony’s lived every single one of these tales. When he finishes “Yoga Teacher” with its deeply self-critical prose, you know it’s a real, honest assessment of himself. His heart never leaves his sleeve throughout and his beautiful sensitivity is articulated perfectly as he discusses love, life and The Great Pyramid Of Stockport. There’s goosebump after goosebump inducing moment and lyrically, there’s few male singers that can have me so close to tears. I fuckin’ love you Antony!
Laura says: Manchester and its surroundings have a long history of producing great wordsmiths. Be it the literary genius of Antony Burgess and Shelagh Delaney, the songwriting chops of Morrissey, Ian Curtis and Shaun Ryder or the punk poetry of John Cooper Clarke, there seems to be a knack in these parts for documenting the grit and reality of city life with wit and charm. It should be no surprise then that our favourite album this year comes from an artist following in this storytelling lineage. Set to a backdrop of serotonin boosting beats that nod to the Manc dancefloor through the decades, be it baggy grooves, full on dancefloor euphoria or slo-mo late-night-early-morning pulses, Antony’s stories are steeped in real life with all its joys, anxieties, ups and (come) downs, swirled together with a stream of consciousness meanderings and a heavy dose of surrealism. It’s an album with its heart in the city, and its feet on the dancefloor.
Manchester-based poet, writer and producer Antony Szmierek has announced the release of his debut album, Service Station At The End Of The Universe. The past few years have been a wild ride for the artist. Cutting his teeth on the Manchester spoken word scene and gaining notoriety for his seamless flow skewering everything from the hardships of contemporary British life to finding the unexpected beauty in the everyday, it was the 2023 release of his single ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Fallacy’ that kicked off his meteoric ascent. The earworming track soon found its way onto the BBC 6 Music airwaves and led Szmierek to be named an Artist of the Year 2023 by the station. There followed appearances on Later… with Jools Holland, a BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale session, multiple triumphant Glastonbury sets and a flurry of comparisons: to the pavement prose of The Streets, the poetry of John Cooper Clarke if he found himself at the Haçienda, or like Jarvis Cocker for the UK Garage generation.
Yet, with the release of his 2023 indie-influenced EP Poems To Dance To and now his banger-filled, dancefloor-focused debut album, Service Station at the End of the Universe, Szmierek cements his sound as one that is distinctly his own. While the album provides a culmination of the deep dancefloor poetry that began with ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Fallacy’, it also showcases a new side to Szmierek’s writing, producing moments of downbeat, dark poignance. The album produces a cohesive and infectious journey through pop melodic hooks and thumping dancefloor orchestrations.
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: If you didn’t love him already ‘Service Station…’ lets us so intimately into Szmierek’s life that I find myself strangely, almost adoring him like a friend or brother! Such is the genuine sentiment coursing through the album.A confident but gentle beta-male with the same insecurities and foibles as the rest of us. The polar opposite of the faux bravado of Old Manchester whilst still, somehow, possessing that patented swagger and our inability to take anything toooo seriously. Thoughtful, and with an acute awareness of the times in which we live. What I love about this particular album is, you feel Antony’s lived every single one of these tales. When he finishes “Yoga Teacher” with its deeply self-critical prose, you know it’s a real, honest assessment of himself. His heart never leaves his sleeve throughout and his beautiful sensitivity is articulated perfectly as he discusses love, life and The Great Pyramid Of Stockport. There’s goosebump after goosebump inducing moment and lyrically, there’s few male singers that can have me so close to tears. I fuckin’ love you Antony!
Laura says: Manchester and its surroundings have a long history of producing great wordsmiths. Be it the literary genius of Antony Burgess and Shelagh Delaney, the songwriting chops of Morrissey, Ian Curtis and Shaun Ryder or the punk poetry of John Cooper Clarke, there seems to be a knack in these parts for documenting the grit and reality of city life with wit and charm. It should be no surprise then that our favourite album this year comes from an artist following in this storytelling lineage. Set to a backdrop of serotonin boosting beats that nod to the Manc dancefloor through the decades, be it baggy grooves, full on dancefloor euphoria or slo-mo late-night-early-morning pulses, Antony’s stories are steeped in real life with all its joys, anxieties, ups and (come) downs, swirled together with a stream of consciousness meanderings and a heavy dose of surrealism. It’s an album with its heart in the city, and its feet on the dancefloor.
TRACK LISTING
Side 1
1. Service Station At The End Of The Universe
2. Rafters
3. The Great Pyramid Of Stockport
4. Big Light
5. Yoga Teacher
6. Crumb
Side 2:
7. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Fallacy
8. Passingthru
9. Take Me There
10. Restless Leg Syndrome
11. Crashing Up
12. Angie’s Wedding