Labels: Boss Tuneage
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Serpico (UK) are ex-Mega City Four. Woo! Not that I am a UK indie stalwart who was into them way back when, though I did posthumously buy a CD by those guys (does that sentence structure mean I bought it after I died, or they died?). The Serps have Wiz doing his familiar whiney vocals over their UK melodic hardcore / punk stylings, and are more in step with “da scene’ than you might expect. Everything is poppy and laced with upbeat choruses to catch onto and get your toe tapping. It seems to fall between the lines of crunchy Brit-rock riffage and stuff like Southport, et al, the current bastions of this style in the UK.
Songwise, well, “Little Star” has a big catchy chorus but the mix puts Wiz way out in front of everything and that grates after a while. “Price of Everything” has an early Get Up Kids feel about it, going all indie rock and semi-aggressive before lurching into an ultra-pop chorus. “Winter” has a more college-rock, kinda Beezewax style feel to it. Defying it’s name, it’s more suited to the summer than the depths of winter with it’s fuzzy, warm sound. Probably the best track on this record in my humble opinion. “King Is Dead” is bouncy with post-hardcore rumbling guitar, but is defiantly rocking, and “On Me” kicks in with this aggressive Texas Is The Reason crunch, before going all tuneful again. Nice one, the 2nd best song here and very impressive to my ears.
Good catchy Brit stuff. If you like 3 ½ minute poppy ditties that are melodic and fun, this is an exceedingly solid release that I think a lot of UK kids would do well to pick up. My thumbs are up. In the air!