EP Review | The Americas – ‘Guitar Music Is Dead’

The Americas Release a Stellar Debut EP with ‘Guitar Music Is Dead’

‘Guitar Music is Dead’ is the debut EP by West Midlands trio, Harry, Aaron and Alex. The Americas have had a busy year to say the least, gigging all over the country, recently performing at the fringe at the Tramlines festival in Sheffield.

I must admit, the band is very new to me, but the sound doesn’t feel that way at all. The sound is so nostalgic that the tracks seem to have years behind them. The short, six track EP packs a whole load of guitar in one place. The ring of the classic bluesy vocals are complemented by rock and country guitars while hats are surely tipped towards indie music, making you really question the Midland origin of the band.

This nostalgia is really alive in the sound, the six short tracks taking great influence from good old fashioned guitar music. The lead track, ‘Come on Out’ has a Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones drawl, down to the “Oh, Oh, Oh” in the background of the track. The vocals are also delivered beautifully Jagger-y in ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Home’ and ‘American Morning’, putting Jagger in a country situation with clever guitar and drum arrangements.

 

 

True, expected country rock is really explored in ‘Rosanna’, one of three tracks released before the EP. The production of the track is really intriguing, the tempo is particularly mellowed out, giving you a rather odd feeling while you listen. The song, before the guitar amplifies towards the end, is rather hypnotising, you may catch yourself feeling as if you’re in a Southern American bar surrounded by people in cowboy hats dancing around you.

The lyrics and their sentiment in the EP, although filled with guitar and drums, make for comfortable listening. Lyrically, the EP seems to encapsulate a certain extent of storytelling with pretty dreamy melodies. ‘Backyard Love Song’ comprises electric guitar and a steady drum beat, but begs deliverance by a raconteur.  The track describes an uninspired life and relationship with the typical wish to get out of their town and regular life. Here, the story begs a familiarity and relationship with the listener, while also inspiring ambition in “Maybe I could get away/ across the country and stay…. It’s somewhere out there, of that I’m sure”. We can see this ambition in the shape of the EP and the number of gigs performed, as well as the quest to make sure guitar music is in fact not dead.

The Americas by @anniewarnerr

Perhaps the stand out track of the album is ‘Bad News’. This track strays from the remaining consensus of the EP. With a much faster deliverance and a heavier feel. Here, the vocals seem less bluesy and more snare like. This is more likely a rock track with indie roots, bringing a further dimension to the EP, maybe teasing other avenues they are willing to explore musically.

 

All in all, this EP was a surprising listen. I was not expecting such nostalgia in a new release, but this really is what makes The Americas stand out. The tongue in cheek title Guitar music is dead is definitely challenged in the EP, band member, Aaron explaining ‘Guitar music seems to die every year. Huge artists like Kasabian and the Gallagher brothers always claim to be the ‘last survivors’, maybe adding The Americas to the list.

This band is definitely one to watch!

Words by Robyn Hartley

 

Facebook: The Americas

Twitter: @TheAmericasYeah

Instagram: theamericasyeah

 

Album Review | IDLES – ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’

IDLES prove they’re One of UK’s Finest with Second Album ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance‘

Punk is well and truly kicking in Idles’ new release – Joy as an Act of Resistance. It is the second album by the Bristol band consisting of Joe Talbot, Adam Devonshire, Mark Bowen, Lee Kieran and Jon Beavis. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, I would compare them mostly to Slaves. Their half sung, half shouted style is most definitely infectious and really grabs you through their music.

Idles released their first album Brutalism in 2017 (FULL REVIEW HERE). The band did reportedly struggle to find their sound initially, Talbot claiming “It took us a long time to get productive because we didn’t know what the fuck we were doing at all, we were fucking terrible for a long time.” However, this time was obviously well spent, with Brutalism being very well received, and the sophomore album is in no way secondary to this.

The witty lyrics of sarcastic frontman, Joe, reference heavily, with some more obscure and unexpected than others. Rock is an obvious reference point in ‘Cry to me’. The track seems almost synonymous with the Rolling Stone’s track of the same name, but Idles successfully stamp their post-punk sound all over it.

Perhaps highlighting Idles laid back approach to music and care free attitude, the 80’s classic Dirty dancing appears on the album “I carried a watermelon/ I wanna be vulnerable in the shape of Love song”. It seems Idles have a particular penchant for the past, quoting 1960s Nancy Sinatra ‘These boots were made for walking’ In ‘Never fight a man with a perm’, almost with the delivery of One of these days- Operation Ivy, post punking a classic once again. Revival seems the name of the game here.

We can really see that, Idles have not lost their sense of humour in anyway in their second album. While delivered in true Idles fashion, some may call loud and angry, light-heartedness doesn’t go a miss with obvious reality TV references “You look like you’re from Love Island in Love song” and self-degradation in ‘I’m scum’.

But, Idles cannot be discredited for tackling a variety of subjects throughout the album. There’s so much truth in the album, the frontman in particular really sharing his reality through the music. ‘Colossus’, the album opener, bursts through the speakers with great fury and anger. Addressing Talbot’s alcohol addiction, the frontman almost spits the line “I waste away for fun” repeatedly .This track isn’t the first time he has spoken so candidly about his problem with drink, “I’m just a prick. I get paranoid, jealous, angry, violent”. This reality and truth is achieved by both the tempo and the intensity of the drums changing continually creating a certain chaos and anxiety.

Loud and angry aren’t the only characteristics to achieve truth in this album. ‘June’, the most poignant track on the album by far, is notably the slowest song on the album. This is really quite a difficult song to listen to, being Talbot’s platform for the grief surrounding the death of his daughter, Agatha, in June of 2017. Much like ‘Colossus’, the song really feels like a relief for Talbot, personalising the album incredibly although the frontman claimed he was unsure if this song would be released. The most haunting lines in the song are “Dreams can be so cruel sometimes/ I swear I kissed your crying eyes and A stillborn was born/ I am a father”. The tone of Talbot’s voice is extremely harrowing while the production is extremely simple, almost sitting on the lines of Nana- The 1975.

The album is also highly uplifting, achieving many a mode in a series of twelve tracks. ‘Television’ tackles self-love and reflection in the age of such ridiculous beauty standards and media pressure. This track encapsulates Joy as an act of resistance, calling for acceptance of uniqueness against continual calls for obedience, most notably in ‘Love yourself’, “The bastards make you not want to look like you and I smash mirrors and fuck TV”.

The song stands as a message of positivity and confidence while the media perpetuates nonsense for conformity and insecurity. Similar to this is the most poppy song on the album, ‘Danny Nedelko’, names after the Hungarian frontman of Heavy Lungs, perpetuating hope and positivity. The song circles around the issue of immigration expressed in “He’s made of bones/ He’s made of blood/ He’s made of flesh/ He’s made of love/ He’s made of you/ He’s made of me/ Unity!” This track is actually quite refreshing, although still delivered in Idles’ fashion, a social message is put forward rather eloquently. Although Talbot describes the song as ‘more of a humane portrait than a political song’, he also wanted the ‘two notions to be inseparable’. The song achieves such that, the song captures immigration as a human issue rather than a black and white issue as often shown in the media.

All in all, I would describe this new release as eclectic and truthful. Taking influences from a variety of sources, while addressing multiple facets, the album is an obvious journey through a life lived.

I already can’t wait for the next one!

10/10

Words by Robyn Hartley