Loci
Filtered To Function EP
This Bristol-based three-piece have mashed together an EP that is as creatively brilliant as it is upsettingly predictable, not that that’s a bad thing… as it might be their saving grace.
The lead track ‘Zweifel’ is everything I love. In fact, some of my all-time favourite artist influences are in this one track alone. It kicks off with a dirty Silverchair/Incubus-Esque riff that you know is a jump-off-the-monitor moment, then breaks down to an ambient My Vitriol Mood (notice the MV Reference, there’ll be more), and then into a pre-chorus like something from Nirvana’s In Utero…. Four favourites so far, and I’m still interested.
The vocals are crunchy with an almost desperate edge, he’s not the greatest studio vocalist by any means but in Loci it is part of the puzzle and the female backing almost screams My Vitriol B-sides and a gentle glaze to the filthy first track.
Tracks two and three are equally as impressive as the first but once again it seems like they have followed the My Vitriol Template from the Fine Lines Album.
The third track ‘Fluke’, starts off with a terrible drum intro (as a drummer I can’t help but comment) that should be cut from the final mix. It lacks any real definition or power and just seems like a waste of good intro space. The soaring wily guitars hide this after a few bars so all is saved and some great double tracking means that there is a little time for a delicate riff over the top. However, the vocals don’t cut in for over a minute, so you have to wait a while to get any thread to hang from but when it does you’re instantly hooked. The male/female double vocals are awesome and, the fact you know she’s playing bass, reminds you that all this is from a three-piece and, just as you’re getting used to that, a pretty raw scream from the frontman makes you sit up and take a glance at your iPod for the next track listing.
The rest of the mini album is as above. It climbs, dips and soars all over the rock spectrum and if you’re a fan of MV you’ll either love them for the similarities or hate it for emulating. Either way, with some big money backing they could be the newest UK grunge band to hit it big and I for one will buy their debut.
Guest article from Ritchie T.
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