Labels: Big Scary Monsters Records
Review by: Joe Callaghan
If I’d have heard this record for the first time, I’d probably be sitting here grumbling in a tetchy sort of manner about how modern music is boring. This mob plunge closer to that dance-y stop/start indie rock than I’m used to, sounding more analogous to Futureheads than Jawbox, which can either spark a meek enjoyment or an instant repugnance. My opinion has been swayed quite profoundly due to seeing them play last week. They were preposterously proficient, and Tight”¦ Real tight! They overwhelmed me to such an extent that I couldn’t have possibly disliked this record. Everything was so taut and rigid, hoisted by that unyielding mechanical dancing with a considerable amount of groove, kind of like if Frankie Stubbs was trapped inside the exoskeleton of Robocop. Admittedly the record pales slightly in comparison. The sweat-soaked choruses stained with hoarse, raucous fatigue don’t appear as prominent when recorded, and everything just comes across very clean-cut, sharp and just a little bit too lughole-friendly. I concede that this is mostly the case with a lot of bands though, and at least they are better live than on record than the other way around, or the authenticity of the band becomes a little questionable. Despite the mixing desk compromising that addition of raw energy, the songs are still there. They’ve cleverly taken the blueprint for razor-sharp indie-pop that often presents shameless Q and not U plagiarism, and have chucked it all together with a distinct modernism, slotting them in to the BSM roster suitably, but it’s nothing entirely unique. You’ll have heard Bloc Party doing it deficiently and Maximo Park doing it contemptuously and just considered them to be regurgitated radio twaddle. Whilst Wintermute are by no means a million miles away, they cover this base with significantly more heart and intensity than you’ll read about in Q. Robot Works’ sound might ring familiar, but I haven’t heard it being executed as exceptionally as this for quite some time.