Labels: Radio is Down
Review by: Joe Callaghan
I want to like this, but it’s difficult. I like everything about it individually. The twangy, assaulting guitars and the incredibly thumping bass which is almost being played as a lead instrument whilst simultaneously holding everything together. The vocals sound like early era Rollins Band, which is also something I have no qualms over. But, nothing happens. Each song is based around a very limited guitar lick, and there’s no progression. The awkward rhythms feel like a build up to something bigger and more engaging, but just as you expect the song to launch, it ends. In a live setting I can envisage this working. That thick, aggressive bass would beat away at your rib cage like a welterweight trying to wind you and put you on the ground, and those vocals would pierce your skull and kick the innards out of the window and onto the road. But here, within the limitations of a 4 track demo, I am completely unmoved, which is hugely disappointing. Perhaps a full length, where the songs would be forced into some sort of variation, would make this work. A build up to something massive, or a hook, a breakdown. Just something where the mood or the tempo changes and has something different to offer. This is by no means bad, but it is limited, and what I have heard will at least urge me to keep one ear to the ground for future material.