‘Recommended if you like: Killing Joke, Joy Division, Wire, Cabaret Voltaire, Television, Swans’, says the press release. I do, so I did, and was suitably rewarded.
This live EP features seven tracks (presumably a full set, inauspiciously recorded during rehearsal, but don’t be put off, as the sound is fine to good and captures and conveys the band’s energy), and instrumental opener ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ is a murky, bass-driven slab of apocalyptic post-punk. ‘Nevada Smith’ melds the guitars of 80s Killing Joke and Joy Division to the vocal stylings, not to mention the thumping rhythms, of early Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, to create a suffocating, claustrophobic atmosphere.
’10,004’ continues to follow the gothy, apocalyptic rock trajectory, from-the-boots vocals growling anger and nihilism over shrieking guitars and thunderous, solid rhythms.
There are hints of Bauhaus about the lugubrious ‘Coin in My Pocket’ and ‘My Brother’s Guns & Knives’, but again, it’s the Craig Adams style bass that steals the show; nothing fancy about the plying, it’s all in the sound and the solid, rumbling tone that locks into a heavy groove.
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Closer ‘The One I’ve Been Waiting For’ is perhaps the weakest of the bunch, melding The Sisters of Mercy’s ‘We Are the Same, Suzannne’ to something that resembles ‘With Or Without You’. It also suffers from a dreadfully muddy sound, and on balance, would have been better left off the release. Still, six out of seven is a decent hit-rate, and the indications are that these guys would be well worth exploring in more detail.
Remora: Swash Online
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