Salford’s Matty Dagger is back under his poor effort moniker, and this time he’s handing the keys over. city of hope (The Cutter Remix) lands via Home Taping — the first drop from the forthcoming ‘poor effort remix EP: vol 1’ — and it’s a proper transformation.
If you know the original, scrub it from your brain for a second. Manchester electronic trio The Cutter have stripped out that driving guitar riff and rebuilt the whole thing from scratch — pulsing 808s, industrial textures, shimmering synths — turning a guitar-led state-of-the-nation piece into something darker, moodier, and deeply immersive. Dagger’s spoken-word vocal rides cleanly over the top, doing exactly what it’s always done: cutting through the noise.
A New Phase for the Project
poor effort kicked off in 2024 with the self-released anti-anthem You’re Wrong, I’m Right (Symphony), quickly earning airplay before HMRC — a very relatable lament on low pay and working-life limbo — became a live crowd favourite. city of hope followed in 2025, a guitar-driven commentary on modern city life that balanced opportunity against inequality and completed the debut EP, released via Home Taping in partnership with EMI North.
Now that EP’s most defining moment gets a whole new life.
“The remix was pieced together with file exchanges in between tours and then finalised over a couple of sessions at my studio. It was really interesting to see Charlie’s approach and how he would typically make a song for The Cutter using the foundations of ‘city of hope’, then Lucy did a great job on the mastering too. It placed the track in a totally different light.” — Matty Dagger
Who Are The Cutter?
The Cutter — Ewan Kinrade (vocals), Charlie Marriott (guitar), and Lucy Green (synths) — are a Manchester trio drawing comparisons to New Order and Cocteau Twins, blending goth, electronica, and shoegaze into something atmospheric and very much their own. Their version of city of hope layers samples and shimmering atmospherics beneath Dagger’s vocal, pulling new dimensions out of familiar material.
‘poor effort remix EP: vol 1’ won’t stop at The Cutter either — contributions from Nightjar, The Karate Suit, and poor effort’s own reworkings are all part of the broader series. Each one aims to refract the project’s world through a different creative lens. We’re here for it.
Catch poor effort Live
- Sat 11 July — Manchester, YES Basement
city of hope (The Cutter Remix) is out now via Home Taping. Stream it, feel things, maybe revisit the original after.
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