Old House Playground come to you from a dark corner of Manchester (via Greece) bringing folk tales of heartbreak, dark premonition and woe. With a heavy mix of blues, rockabilly and dark twang, Their debut EP, ‘The Great Escape’, comes across as a hybrid of Tindersticks, Nick Cave and Tito & Tarantula, delivered with the sophistication of Chris Isaak (more specifically his classic ‘Baby Did a Bad Thing’). Frontman Tryfon Lazos combines and twists such influences into his own style throughout the four featured tracks, leaving behind a release that’s nothing short of wonderful.
Tag Archives: alternative
THE JACQUES – Artful Dodger EP
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.
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 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.
INTERIM – Metanarratives EP
Interim are a five piece alternative/hard rock band from Australia who’ve previously been championed by their own country’s famous rock radio station Triple J. By the time of their 2015 EP release ‘Metanarratives’ the band sounds more than established – the five songs on this release are of a very high standard indeed, effortlessly mixing hard rock, post-grunge and blues sounds to create a heavy yet melodic style.