People must be pretty pissed off in the Scottish Borders if the three band members of STICK FINLAYS are symptomatic of a general malaise gripping that geographic region. Their Joe Gibb produced (Funeral For A Friend) debut long player ‘Progress On Paper’ has apparently been “fuelled by intimidation, frustration and [gulp] a daunting existence.” Blimey, remind me not to stop for chips between Carlisle and Glasgow.
These youthful noiseniks – they’re a trio – have been picked up by Steve Lamacq who’s given them a bit of a leg-up via his Radio 1 show and the A & R slot on his web site. They’ve subsequently found a home with Hackpen Records, where the libidinous Los Skeletones also domicile. Given their outlook on life and producer you won’t be surprised to hear that we’re in Emo/punk/metal territory. Not normally my tipple of choice, I’m amazed to find myself rather liking this lot. Undoubtedly there are more polished and tuneful exponents of this music for the alienated and dispossessed but there are few with the kind of unadulterated ballsy delivery that STICK FINLAYS possess. It’s not pretty but it’s comprehensively effective.
The band rips through the eight tracks as if their lives depended on it. The opening salvo of ‘Progress On Paper’, ‘In Your Room’ and ‘Full Stop’, a song that “explores how people’s dreams and ambitions are constantly put down”, offers no respite. I’m picturing Muse without the edges smoothed out by high end production values. The Nirvana inspired ‘Closed Door’ makes way for some variation in mood and tone but still lays it on thick and strong. ‘Time You Went’ threatens to be the closest thing we have to a single release as its arrangement is, in comparative terms, more direct. ‘Return To Zero’ is one my favourites and is Tommy Hunter’s best vocal: the sheer heaviness of the rhythm is also powerfully executed. Stand-out track ‘Favourite Ally’ captures the band’s full-on energy but also carries some great guitar work and a rabble-rousing chorus to briefly blow away those Border Town Blues. Last track ‘Cultural Vandal’ is intense sonic overload that sort of sounds like The Cure (circa. ‘Primary’, ‘Give Me It’) as punk/metal. It works.
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A significant part of the album’s overall charm (if that's the right word) is the fact that at any moment it sounds like the whole enterprise is either about to implode from the sheer weight of the roughly hewn heavy riffing or, failing that, the amps are on the verge of relieving themselves from the unrelenting pressure through explosive hari-kiri.
'Progress On Paper' is music with a pulse and a promising debut that deserves the attention of the true fan of the genre and may even turn the heads of the ambivalent and one or two of the antipathetic.
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