“We're big in Egypt!” may not be a boast that many bands will shout from the rooftops in their quest to gain world domination and hot and cold running groupies from Tokyo to LA. Yet apparently it's the truth where Surrey/ Hampshire quintet THE FINS are concerned, as their three previous EPS have fair raced up the charts there.
And, at least superficially, it's not hard to hear why, for The Fins' urgent, guitar-driven sound is certainly well-recorded and competently/ confidently dispatched during the course of the three tracks, making up 'Adaptor', their fourth EP. Indeed, there are certainly times where elements of their sound (the 'Radar Love'-style glam riff'n'swagger of the title track, the slowburning verses and overall tension of third tune 'On And On') are happy to make friends with your reviewer.
It's just that...well, we've heard this stuff so many times before, and when they put pedal to the metal and go for the hard rock burn of the predictable big chorus, the spectres of so many shoulda-beens (hello Puressence, Marion, Undercut, The Open) crowd into your vision and almost suffocate you. Add this to the all-pervasive, glossy FM sheen and the fact that vocalist Ryan Adger is competent but lacking in anything distinctive and you have something that struggles to rise above the morass regardless of the ability of the players.
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Sorry lads. You may be capable of starting fires in Cairo, but at present you're leaving me cold. Cracking picture of a chameleon on the cover, mind. Hey! The Chameleons...now there was a big rock band of quality and distinction.
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