On their second EP, Bristol four-piece The Jacques display a carefree style on three numbers pulling the best elements from sixties beat music, seventies mod revival and nineties Britpop, often in a manner that reflects the youthful energy on the much-loved Supergrass debut ‘I Should Coco’. Any comparisons with that LP can be directly drawn from ‘This Is England’, a three minute high speed jangle that has a punky edge to the guitar work which sometimes shows glimmers of a Buzzcocks-ish style colliding with the kind of vigour that was so oft-present within Gaz Coombes’s overall approach. It’s clear from this particular number that we’re dealing with a particularly tight unit, it’s just a shame the band couldn’t hire themselves a vocalist. Finn O’Brien yelps through this number much in the manner of a pre-pubescent lad, his high pitched delivery akin to Alex Turner with a helium balloon threatening to kill any enjoyment at almost every turn.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
FOLLOW THE LION – The Candy & Gravity Motel EP
Follow The Lion are a five piece indie-rock band from Leeds whose debut EP is comprised of three finely crafted indie-rock tunes; each of these three numbers bring out the best in most of the band members – particularly vocalist Daniel Francis and lead guitarist Richard Swann. Prior to ‘The Candy & Gravity Motel’s release, the band found an early champion in the legendary Tom Robinson, who gave exposure to the title cut on his BBC Radio 6 show…and it’s very easy to see why, since these three songs are absolutely tailor-made for rock-based radio. That’s “tailor-made”, as opposed to manufactured, since FTL have a very natural style – there’s nothing here to ever make you think they’d been moulded by the media in any way.
THE END MEN – Terms & Conditions
Reappearing at the beginning of 2013 after a brief hiatus, Brooklyn’s End Men made a big statement with their second LP ‘Play With Your Toys’. From that point on, there seemed to be no stopping the blues/garage rock duo, with live shows aplenty following – including a recorded appearance at CXCW – and a quickly released compilation of odds and ends filling the gap until their next studio bookings. Released seemingly weeks after their last recordings, ‘Terms & Conditions’ picks up exactly where you’d expect, with the gravel-voiced Matthew Hendershot weaving tales of woe and drunken forboding while percussionist Livia Ranalli plays by the seat of her pants. With such a quick turnaround of material, are The End Men in danger of burning themselves out? On the basis of their 2015 release, it’s a case of anything but…
THE DECOY – Parasites EP
This EP from Welsh trio The Decoy is chaotic. It’s also quite brilliant. Restless from the outset, this band bring metallic edginess, new wavish quirks, post-hardcore sounds, alongside a dose of noise rock, touches of light reggae and jangly guitar rock together in a way that should appeal to the more open minded prog fan, or the math rock devotee. What they lack in obvious hooks they more than make up for with sheer balls. The results are not going to be for everyone, but we should assume that’s exactly how The Decoy like it.
THE QUIET ROOM – All The Frozen Horses
In 2013, Australian rock band Evoletah unveiled ‘We Ache For The Moon’, a huge surprise of an album that threw away most of their previous alternative rock traits in favour of a moody sound combining rock, prog and touches of jazz. One of the best albums of the year, it’s lower-key sounds really seemed in tune with the voice of frontman Matt Cahill, tapping into the understated qualities of his voice. It was a brilliant musical statement – and the band knew it; so, then rather than set about creating a similarly themed successor straight away, Cahill stepped aside and with a huge input from multi-instrumentalist Andrew Muecke, began creating material in a completely different style.