I always like to think that my reviews are totally unbiased and 100% objective, but I think that I really ought to mention that I have been in the studio a few times with these guys while they work on their debut album, and that I wrote the press release for this their first EP. Disclaimer over. The band came together in August 2011, when drummer Dom Morris, guitarist David Hitchcock and bassist Elliot Pike had all left Uncouth, but wanted to keep working together. They met up with Darrin (ex- Skivy and Fuel Set) and this is the result of the hard work they have put in on the live circuit since then, honing their collective skills and direction. When asked about their musical influences bassist Elliot said “Where to start? Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soulfly, Black Sabbath through to more alternative/indie stuff such as Mike Patton, Neutral Milk Hotel and Band of Horses”. Recorded with Andrew Buckton (Crowded House, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga, Supergroove, Subtract etc), the guys have produced a four song set that is polished and refined, yet has the energy and passion of their live performance, as they mix grunge and metal influences with Seventies hard rock arrangements to create something that is vibrant and with plenty of balls, yet almost commercial and “poppy’ at the same time.
There is a real honesty about this music, it feels ‘real’ and grunty in an era when music often feels false and manufactured. It has been picked up by Triple A Records for release, and features artwork which folds out into a poster with a “terror serpent” on one side, and caricatures of the guys on the other where somehow they have been transformed into zombie musicians. All in all it is a great package, and shows yet again that while we may be small in population, NZ keeps punching above it’s weight in terms of quality bands. These guys are well worth discovering.
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