Labels: Solar Flare
Review by: Alex Deller
Here’s another enjoyably hefty slab of 90s post hardcore-infused rawk for those of you who’ve been enjoying Ô GES, Godstopper or the simple fact that the Handsome album is finally out on vinyl. Initial spins suggested some not-unwarranted Torche comparisons, and while this French mob definitely owe the Floridian sludge-pop titans more than a nod of recognition this ‘un has more than enough going on to stand on its own merits. Riffs clang and rend like the the collision of jellybean-coloured girders, dropped casually as if procuring them were the easiest thing in the world while the glueily tuneful vocals suggest a fondness for the likes of Understand, Shift and Helmet. It’s a varied album, by turns charging along like a bastard (‘Far From Low’), hulking sulkily while thunderclouds gather (‘Holy Tranquilizer’) or, with ‘Sharp Beaks Strike Back’, given to spew up groovy, sinewy things that dabble with spaced-out prettiness. Despite the variation, everything seems part of a neatly unified whole, possessed of enough drive and dynamism to ensure those of you fond of both heaviness and spiffy tunesmithery keep coming back for more.