Despite being a little rough around the edges, Dead Wolf Club’s debut album included some interesting musical ideas. There was strong sense of a band feeling their way around, throwing out ideas in an attempt to find out which ones would stick, but for those listeners who persevered, three or four genuinely great numbers could be found within. Looking beyond the truly awful sleeve art, their second release ‘RAR’ builds on the promise of the debut’s more focused moments, essentially leaving behind an album which shows off a band with a stronger sense of vision.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
SEVEN DEADLY – The Allegiance EP
Featuring three ex-members of Panic Cell, Seven Deadly are a five piece metal band from the UK. Although they credit themselves as a thrash metal band, their overall sound isn’t as rooted within the classic eighties subgenre as some (Cry Havoc, we’re looking at you!). Perhaps more than thrash, the riffs on this debut EP often evoke the sounds of Pantera styled power grooves, as well as more than a passing resemblance to the mighty Lamb of God, while vocally, their use of filters and clean melodies puts them more in line with Killswitch Engage and the twenty first century metalcore scene. In many respects, though, these musical tags are unimportant; it’s whether the music makes an impression that’s of most importance – and from a huge metal perspective, even though it’s hugely generic,‘The Allegiance EP’ mostly pushes the right buttons.
CATTLE – Cattle EP
From out of the silence, a lo-fi bass chord emerges. Then another. Then a couple more. The quiet bass rattles gently for a while building expectation, yet giving little to no indication of what is to follow. As the drums appear, a stoner-ish vibe sets the pace before a heavy syncopated beat takes hold – one which is easily comparable to the darker, moodier works of Primus. …And for some, those funky few bars, will come to represent the most accessible part of Cattle’s self-titled EP.
FAHRAN – Fahran
Fahran was born from the ashes of Toxic Federation, a band whom already had a couple of DIY releases under their collective belts, despite having an average age of under twenty years old. Following the departure of Toxic’s vocalist and guitarist, a name change also bought the arrival of new band members, including vocalist Nick Whitcroft.
CITY MOUSE – EP (2011)
Following a much earlier EP and cuts on various comps, this 2011 7” by City Mouse is a superb disc. Issued on It’s Alive Records (home to The Copyrights, The Methadones and Gateway District), this record represents the Riverside, California punks as an underground band at the top of their game.
Fitting a huge amount of energy into just over six minutes, these four songs grind and bounce just as well as material released by many of the best-known names in melodic punk rock/pop punk. Classic sounding tunes need a great vocal, and in City Mouse’s frontwoman (and mainstay) Miski Dee Rodriguez, this band has an extra edge. Her voice moves between a melodic punk warble and attitude-filled hard rock rasp, which although not as instantly recognisable as a voice such as Tilt’s Cinder Block, for example, is more than distinctive.
The strongest cut, the razor-sharp ‘Dumb Dumb Dumb’ makes great use of a simple refrain and equally simple riff. Listening a little closer, a particularly busy bassline provides some more sophisticated elements; Zac Howe is a very talented player. Likewise, the highly infectious ‘Bird Song’, combines a fast punky riff with a sharp vocal line, the intermittent presence of the already familiar “here is the church, here is the steeple” line is guaranteed to make this tune stick in your memory.
The other two songs (‘You’ and ‘The Rhyme’) may not quite have such instant lyrical hooks, but are certainly on a par musically, especially at those times Howe’s basslines rattle out notes at speed, constantly fighting Dee’s guitar work for superiority. Of particular enjoyment is Miski’s performance on ‘The Rhyme’, on which her voice rings the best results out of nearly line.
Like Pinhead Gunpowder’s ‘Fahziah’, ‘Nervous Breakdown’ by Black Flag or ‘Spiral Scratch’ by Buzzcocks, here, City Mouse adds more weight to the argument that, when approached correctly, the 7” four-song EP is the ultimate punk artefact. If you have ever been attracted to (m)any of the punk bands from California – particularly the best Larry Livermore-produced ones on the Lookout! Records label – then this is definitely for you.
August 2012