Purveyors of infectious, danceable grunge-pop
Trawling through social media looking for new unsigned bands can be a dispiriting experience. Especially in 2020 when the bins have been out more than I have. I don't have anything against acoustic singer/songwriters per se but there's an awful lot of them strumming away in Instagrammable bedrooms.
Yet wait! What have we here? A duo billed as playing 'indie rock with a twist of dance and chants’. Ears on. Now I know Royal Blood have redefined what to expect from a duo but surely there's more than two of them. Nope. Cornwall's contender for noisiest two-piece consist only of Lee Matthews on vocals/guitars and Bubs Taylor on drums/vocals. And they create a ferocious storm of sound which has been variously described as 'a supersonic landscape of sound' with '...tempting traces of psychedelic sauciness and a cheeky measure of grunge'.
Fast forward a few weeks, after back-combing their previous releases, and here at Blowtorch Records we're thrilled to welcome our latest addition to the lineup - WAXX. That first track I heard was the soaring Sad Machines, our recent track of the week. Catchier than the new COVID variant, if ever there was a song to lift the Winter blues this must be it. Combining the straight ahead proto-punk of Ash with the swampy grunge of the Black Keys and seasoning with some Beach Boys style backing oohs and aahs, it's the best antidote to 2020 we've heard.
Is there more like it I hear you ask? Oh yeah! Check out this beauty from 2018.
How can you not love a song which starts with 'I swear to God that I did not plan it, I fell in love with a girl from a different planet'? Combining the joyful exuberance of early Supergrass (and also their brilliant planet-referencing Grace) with Ramones style straightforward rock 'n' roll, it's ridiculously good. And all drenched in reverb like a punk Phil Spector production.
And I could go on. They have track after track of contagious, life-affirming pop-grunge guaranteed to set you off dreaming of a warm, sundown festival slot. We can't promise you that in 2021 but the lads are working on new material so here's hoping. Until then turn it up loud and WAXX away.
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