“Life in the Slow Lane” - Double Yellow
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
There’s something beautifully crooked about Life in the Slow Lane — the debut album from Double Yellow, the alter-ego of Manchester’s own Dave Lilley. It’s funky, it’s weird, it’s slick, and it’s grimy — a kind of twisted, cinematic stroll through the backstreets of the city on a warm, hungover Sunday morning. This is downtempo funk for the restless soul, equal parts crate-digger cool and indie swagger, wrapped up in that distinctly Mancunian sense of humor and grit.
From the first track, Life in the Slow Lane oozes attitude. You can practically smell the damp pavements and late-night takeaway wrappers — but instead of wallowing, Lilley turns it all into a groove. This isn’t shiny funk or polished neo-soul; it’s bin-man funk, as he puts it — “more funk than a wheelie bin.” It’s that effortlessly danceable blend of slouchy basslines, broken-beat percussion, smoky horns, and sly, half-grinning vocals that makes it impossible not to move your shoulders.
Lilley’s musical multiculturalism shines through every track. You can hear his soul-band beginnings, his art-school eccentricity, his years promoting indie gigs in Manchester, and his collaborations with Diesler. The result is something that refuses to sit still — it’s as likely to drop a jazz trumpet break as it is to slide into a reggae bassline or a lo-fi guitar hook. It’s that same open-minded, no-genre-barred spirit that Manchester has always thrived on — from A Certain Ratio to Mr. Scruff.
And then there’s that cover. The dixie-jazz reimagining of Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows” is a stroke of pure, cheeky genius — like a speakeasy jam session after one too many whiskies. It’s brassy, swaggering, and weirdly elegant — Band on the Wall style, as Lilley puts it — and it somehow makes perfect sense alongside the album’s deep-fried funk and inner-city poetry.
Tracks like “We Got Caught” and “Feed You” have already caught the ears of tastemakers — Gilles Peterson playlisted them across BBC Radio 2, 6Music, and Jazz FM — and it’s easy to see why. They’re groovy but smart, lush but streetwise, the kind of tunes that could slip into a late-night set in a jazz club or a festival tent without missing a beat.
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
The record features guest spots from longtime collaborators Diesler, Dan Smith, Ed Pye, and Mark Ward, with a remix from Yam Who? that got spins from legends like Joey Negro and Danny Krivit — proving Double Yellow’s sound travels far beyond the M60 ring road.
After three years of DIY studio hibernation, Lilley’s Life in the Slow Lane arrived as a gem of groove-driven storytelling — and now, with its re-release via Here & Now Recordings in September 2025, it’s getting the recognition it deserves. This is an album that sounds as comfortable in a Northern pub jukebox as it would on a Tokyo jazz-funk playlist.
And with more releases on the horizon for 2026, it feels like Double Yellow is just warming up. Life in the Slow Lane isn’t just an album — it’s a reminder that groove, grit, and good humor can still coexist, and that Manchester funk has plenty of petrol left in the tank.
In short: a wonky, witty, wonderfully groovy masterpiece — the kind of record that makes you want to dance and nod in approval at the same time.
“Life in the Slow Lane” is available now on all major streaming platforms
