Out of curiosity, I looked up the difference between the terms “Actual Bodily Harm” and “Grievous Bodily Harm”. ‘Grievous’ implies injuries that are severely detrimental to the victim’s health; ‘actual’ is the same, but less severe. I think I’d want more guidance than that if I was the judge in an assault case. Listening to Exit North‘s double A-side single Harm / Terms won’t help, but it will be a very enjoyable way to spend a spare 10 minutes.

Exit North was formed when the songwriting partnership of Steve Jansen (ex. Japan) and Thomas Feiner added Ulf Jansson and Charles Storm to the mix in 2014. The musical style of this band is very much in the same vein as Japan – typically described as art rock or chamber pop, although that understates the excellent quality of their compositions and the high standard of production, in my opinion.

The older material by Japan (and its later reincarnation as Rain, Tree, Crow) tends to run at a pleasant ambient pace; both tracks on the Harm / Terms single, on the other hand, pulse with an invigorating beat. If you feel the need to vent your frustrations on the world, don’t go and beat up an old lady, listen to Harm / Terms and let it soothe your savage breast.