The Boxer Rebellion may have begun the trend for pan-Continental band personnel, but Scottish-based DEAD FLY BUCHOWSKI have clearly been happy to run with the gauntlet. Yes, their intense, neo-possessed vocalist Roddy Campbell is a fierce, fiery Scot, but guitarist Tom Davis is Irish, bassist Michael Thorpe hails from London and drummer Simon Hoffer is Austrian by birth. And together, their strange melange of blood ties has created a DNA well worth sampling.
Both pre-album trailer singles "Blackout" and "Russian Doll" were enough to get DFB noticed and rightly so. The first comes fully-formed and fierce, with cauterising riffing a la The Stooges and Hot Snakes and Campbell's invective bordering on the deranged, while the splenetic, marching rhythms and cyclical punky aggression of "Russian Doll" assured us there was more where that came from.
Over the distance, though, "Land Of The Rough" suggests these nailbombs of aggression aren't the only type of explosive device being manufactured in DFB'S chemistry set. Indeed, early salvoes like "Been Down Before" feature bouncy rhythms, richocheting basslines and guitars that circle and snag, suggesting that DFB aspire to the sort of tricky, ambitious hardcore designs currently being refashioned by Scottish labelmates Biffy Clyro.
But just as quickly as you've begun to think along those lines, Dead Fly Buchowski pull the rug of perception out from under you. In fact "Didn't I Hear You Right" ( which follows "Been Down Before" ) is actually far closer to the overall sound of "Land Of The Rough" and demonstates that - for all their bruising, punky diversions - DFB are actually quite an old skool rock outfit at heart. Not that the intensity levels let up, but "Didn't I Hear You Right" is a hurt, stinging love song proving this band can cope admirably with dynamics and have a singer (admittedly one who also sounds like he's on a short fuse) who can hold notes and really sing. Actually, the way Campbell defiantly sings "Look me in the eye and say you don't love me" on this song is surely one of the record's high points.
The ensuing "Anyway" soon proves this isn't a flash in the pan, either. Once again it's a lurching, accusatory thing that allows a faint whiff of the blues to exude from it, while this time Campbell sounds REALLY pissed off. Mind you, he's equally fucked off on "Blacker Than Blue" - where The Birthday Party, The Stooges and Black Sabbath all spring to mind - and "The Way She Goes", where he comes on like a surprisingly effective indie Nick Cave and the band take another dangerous crawl on the wild side. "You told me you loved me - but I just rattled your cage" mutters Campbell on this latter, while the shadows audibly lengthen.
|
Actually, it's all impressive enough until the closing pair of tracks, where Dead Fly Buchowski try too hard and blow it in a big way. The penultimate "Ground Nero" starts out sounding like it's going to be an excursion into space-rock before mutating into something akin to Guided By Voices being beamed in from the Outer Hebrides. That's confusing enough, but when they try to be Muse and speed it up it's all too much to take. Mind you, it's genius compared with the closing "Sun Song" which starts brilliantly, with its' initial strains of hymnal, electric folk coming on like the proverbial calm after the storm. Predictably, though, they can't resist the temptation to be epic and overcook the false ending so badly it's almost beyond overkill. Talk about gilding the lily. And it was all looking so good prior to this. Pah!
Still, the road to rock'n'roll Valhalla is littered with the carcasses of blown chances, and in any case it doesn't necessary hamper a band's reputation in the long run if they throw a few wobblers like this along the way. Besides, one of the best things about Dead Fly Buchowski is the fact they enjoy muddying the emotional waters, revel in screwing with your head and do their utmost to disturb your peace of mind. Consequently, "Land Of The Rough" is a forbidding terrain, but one that nearly always exhilarates.
|
