The Void
The Void EP
Heavily influenced and inspired The Beatles, The Void are pictured on the record cover in a classic Fab-Four staircase pose and even took their name from the lyrics of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. However, if you are expecting five songs that sound like a dodgy covers band, you’ll be disappointed – or pleasantly surprised if you only expected it through bitter cynicism.
‘Love Like a Machine Gun’ is a strong start for The Void with guitars that emulate the sound of The Clash and stuttered bass lines that follow a rather more complicated route. However, things get even better as the record progresses.
An acoustic guitar introduces ‘You’re So Sweet’, which turns into a rock and roll song with something of a ‘Happy Days’ feel to the bouncy rhythm. The bass pumps out a nice solid sound while the guitars slot in the gaps with their ambient reverb and touch of crunchy distortion.
‘Mary Celeste’ mixes two strong rhythm patterns and is a good showcase for Clarke’s vocal, which meets halfway between Brett Anderson and Liam Gallagher. The difference between the awkward sounding verse and smooth chorus creates an excellent contrast and lifts things up for the hooks to really shine.
There is a thumping drum intro to ‘Rain’, which makes a reappearance for a break after the second chorus. The guitar hook is a little overplayed in this song and this results in the verse failing to carve out its own identity. However, with a total time of just two and a half minutes, this doesn’t cause much irritation.
Final song ‘Don’t Let Me Fall’ is a relaxed affair with piano strokes and muted accompaniment that builds up to the chorus. The vocal is the star in this song with an honest emotional sound that matches the lyrics.
There is definitely a general sixties feel to these songs and you could compare the song writing to almost any of the great bands of that decade and, as a bonus, these songs sound even better if you crank up the volume a fair bit.
There is a lot of retro around at the moment, which means it’s incredibly difficult to stand out from the crowd. However, The Void deserve to be recognised as one the better retro bands on offer.
Written by Smith on
