Robyn Writes

Review: Opting For Oblivion – Tomorrow Starts Today EP

Opting For Oblivion, by their own description, are a ‘punk/rock/metal’ band, hailing from Stoke-On-Trent. Despite some lineup troubles, they’ve managed to get their act together and have recorded a new three track EP, Tomorrow Starts Today. It’s certainly an optimistic title, indicating a fresh start and a hopeful future, but does the EP provide that? That is the question.

Opening track, To Your Grave, was perhaps not the best choice of opener. I’m of the firm opinion that you open and finish with your strongest tracks, and To Your Grave is potentially the weakest song on the EP. From the offset, I’m struggling to find where the ‘punk’ is in this, or even the ‘metal’. Misclassification is a common thread in the British music scene, with bands often referring to their influences as opposed to their actual music. But that’s cool, I’ll let it slide. I refuse to let slide the quite frankly average guitar solo in the middle, which sadly permeates its way throughout the rest of the EP – it sounds a bit like a stuck record and admittedly, fairly grating. The vocals are somewhat tinny, possibly down to the production, but interestingly this doesn’t follow through the EP, which is something to look forward to. On the whole, the track has that generic rock feel, the kind you encounter all too often at ‘battle of the bands’ nights down your local. If you like that kind of thing, then this track’s for you. If not, skip to the next.

Next track up is 6/8 < 1. Interesting title, sadly uninteresting song. It starts out a bit more promising than To Your Grave, but ultimately becomes the same slow, plodding affair. Opening with an attempt at a cocky classic rock riff and a bit of melody, it sounds more commanding before sliding back into a slow vocal section, then back into the riff, and back again, then a bit of bass, but not a twiddly guitar solo – this one’s much improved on the last song, but it’s still pretty generic. It’s garage rock 101, but sadly not the kind to make you want to mosh hard. Or even really bang your head.

The best track on the EP is most definitely its last, The World Through A Broken Lense. Probably should point out that ‘lense’ is spelt wrong. The opening is faster paced, with less focus on the “rock!’ and more on the melody. It’s more impressive than the rest because it’s not trying to grab your attention straight away and in that, it actually succeeds to make itself noticed. The vocals are still a bit dicey; I’m struggling to make out a fair few lines. But it sounds right with the music and that’s what matters. However, the song reaches a logical end and then starts right back in again, extending it past what would have been the right length and drags it out, kicking and screaming. Despite this, it’s not a bad track and if Opting For Oblivion go with this kind of approach, the future will be much brighter.

The EP was recorded over the space of a couple of days, and if that means produced as well, then it makes sense as to why the production isn’t so great. On my ‘recently added’ playlist, it goes from this EP straight into a Youtube rip of the new Panic! At The Disco song, which in comparison sounds almost live. And we all know Youtube rips are not the audiophile’s first choice. The Opting For Oblivion EP is fuzzy in places, the vocals aren’t clear and the guitar solos are particularly painful. Whether that’s production or not is up to you, but personally, I think that this EP would be much more listenable if it was tightened up a bit and the levels were adjusted.

It’s not my kind of music, I’ll admit that right from the off. The kind of grungey, classic rock/garage rock doesn’t do it for me at all. The first two tracks are especially painful in that regard. However, the last track shows a lot more potential. If the band decide to take that kind of direction, they might just stand a chance.

1.5 out of 5 high fives.

updates!

Hey guys, new stuff up tomorrow. It’s been a bit of a long week.

Also, Kitteh has really really bad tonsillitis, so everyone wish her well! Hoping she gets better soon, she’s really been suffering.

And again, if you want TBO to look at your band’s latest release, please email me! ripper[at]twobeatsoff.co.uk is the one. Depending on the sort of music, either Kitteh or I will have a look and hopefully get the word out about your band! We really want to dig into the UK scene at the moment, a lot of good stuff coming out.

That said, my review tomorrow’s gonna be about Cobra Skulls. They’re American. But they’re super awesome.

xoxo – Ripper

Live: Attack! Vipers! – Kelsey’s, Leamington Spa, 14/1/11

The Leamington scene has been under threat lately. With the closure of Spayce, the last venue that wouldn’t charge extortionate amounts to the promoters, it looked like there was little hope for us. Laurence and Move To Leamington put on a show or two in his house (such as the RVIVR show last year that was epic) but it’s just impractical. However, tonight saw a kind of revival as student bar Kelsey’s offered the top floor for a night of punk rock. It was, to say the least, an interesting evening.

First up were Lineker (who I sadly can’t find a link for online!), a band clearly named after the Walkers man/popular ex-footballer. One of the other bands made a joke that they should put out a split with a band called Gascoigne. It would probably be a stellar release. Apparently one of their first shows as a new band, they performed well! Pretty gruff stuff but not too heavy. Hopefully, they should be playing more shows near here soon.

Cannons And Tanks were up next and as always, were bloody great. Having caught them with RVIVR last year, it’s safe to say they’ve definitely pulled it all together now to form a much tighter unit. Matt thought they sounded a little bit like Small Brown Bike, which is probably obvious from the name. If you like that kind of stuff, then Cannons And Tanks are most definitely for you. It’s music from the heart and it sounds awesome. At the end of their set, they threw in a cover of Waiting Room by Fugazi. From the opening bass riff, I was apprehensive. I am not a huge fan of covers and to even touch Fugazi is usually asking for trouble, but it was actually a pretty impressive attempt and I can’t wait to hear more from these guys.

Caves had a bit of a mixed bag going here. The beginning and end of the set were both excessively awesome, with those awesome pop melodies shining on through, but the middle of the set was a little lacklustre. However, it was still a very good performance. Caves just have this awesome energy, as if they could play all night, and it definitely transfers into the crowd. Some of the oldies there were getting very excited. The new material sounds pretty good and they have a new CD out soon – check back here for details.

Section 13 were very average. Although the majority of the audience were there to see them, they were the worst band on the bill. They play an 80s brand of hardcore which is just impossible to make original. Were they playing that kind of stuff back then? Probably, but if that’s the case, then it’s time to move on. The highlight of the set was possibly the weirdest moshpit I have ever seen, as old dudes in tartan collided with lager louts in a kind of slow frenzy. When I have lost the jadedness of youth and am old and enthusiastic, then I’ll mosh like that. Until then, I’m content to remain vaguely hipster-esque with my arms folded and the occasional toe-tap. They might have done covers, but I couldn’t really tell.

So, hooray forAttack! Vipers! who were just incredible! This is brutal hardcore at its best and a fine example of what’s coming out of England right now. A combination of intense growls and great melodies, they could be likened to early Fight Paris but way more brutal. A great crowd reaction was almost as entertaining as the band themselves – human pyramids and what can only be described as dizzy dinosaurs with almost every member of a band there picked up and thrown in the air was absolutely mental. For a tiny room at the top of a shitty bar, the sound was great and managed to pull up some highly bewildered looking students from downstairs. Hopefully, Attack! Vipers! will be coming to the all dayer in March, as they are certainly not to be missed.

All done!

All of the old articles have been uploaded. Some still need fiddling around with – still don’t quite have a grasp on how much space I have to play with – but for the most part, it’s all done.

New stuff should be up tomorrow – I’m off to a show tonight that I’m going to review.

xoxo – Ripper

Live: Young Guns and Francesqa – The Copper Rooms, 7/10/10

It’s a Thursday. Of all days, it’s a Thursday. We’re late. Kitteh takes forever getting ready and there isn’t another bus for half an hour. We can’t miss Francesqa, she says, I need to see them. I didn’t understand why the commotion, but okay, I’ll go with it. So she calls a taxi and while we wait, this freaky as hell old man comes out of the Well and stares at us. Literally stares. And gets closer. And closer. And closer. He’s terrifying, so we walk away, wait for the taxi, taxi arrives, we get to the union and people are still queuing anyway. Punk gigs are always so much simpler; I know where the venue is, I know who’s on, I know when to go, how much and it’s always more relaxed and less full of freshers. Or annoying exec members of other societies.

But here we were, and as part of my duties to my own society (scored secretary of Punksoc this year, I don’t even know how/what I’m supposed to do), we decided to go down to the union for Crash, the alternative night that happens every other week. But as it happens, this week, there were a couple of bands on beforehand. Francesqa seem to be a certain favourite of Kitteh’s right now and to be honest, I’d never heard of them. But they started playing as we got in, so we ran into the middle, stared up at the stage and witnessed magic unfold.

Francesqa are, quite frankly, the most exciting ‘alternative’ (and by that, I mean potentially mainstream) act to come out right now. I had no idea what to expect, but their music is ridiculously melodic, full of energy and beauty as well as being completely grandiose. Every song is a massive anthem, filling the room entirely. They already had a band of dedicated fans repping at the front, Kitteh included, and I couldn’t help but get swept into it all. The majority of their set came from their latest EP, We Lived, which Kitteh reviewed a few weeks ago and we highly recommend you purchase it. It’s an absolute blinder of a record. The same passion that comes through on the record definitely comes through live, and singer Ashley struggled on through, despite an oncoming illness without sacrificing the quality of the set. There were a few rarer B-sides thrown in to make up the rest though, and these songs were just as enthralling and polished as their lead material. As a band, they’re extremely well rehearsed and slick, and it’s clear that Francesqa know how to put on a good show. If you can catch them on their headline tour next month (which I sadly can’t), then do go and see them – you’re in for a right treat.

Young Guns were the night’s headliners, and possibly the biggest act that’s played in the Copper Rooms since it was built. Francesqa called the place a ‘cracking venue’, the rest of us are a little bit more unconvinced. Nevertheless, there were enough people for it not to feel as empty as it usually does at these affairs. I still felt a bit lost though. We’d recruited a couple of freshers (and some not freshers) who were more lost than I and attempted to see what all the fuss was about. All I know about Young Guns are that they’ve been in Kerrang, they’ve played Reading this year and fifteen year old girls seem to go mental for them. Most of those usually convince me to stay away from a band, but I’d paid my ticket price – no point in backing out. And to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. On the whole, it’s not my kind of music. Standard ‘scene’ fare, like You Me At Six, but a little more rock and roll. I was too busy staring at the frontman – Gustav has some impressive guns himself, I can tell you that! It’s easy to see how they’ve become so big in such a short amount of time though – they’re highly polished, but not so much that they’re too inaccessible; there’s still that raw energy to make them just exciting enough. And they’re a lot of fun. It’s still danceable, and the crowd did. There was even a vaguely impressive moshpit. Most material came from new album All Our Kings Are Dead, which Kitteh quite likes. Despite my general disdain for most stuff that appears in Kerrang these days, I can’t help but respect a band who puts out stuff on their own label, tours hard and plays hard. And that’s exactly what Young Guns did. They were psyched to be there, they put on a good show. That’s all I can ask.