The Authentics
Blondes Make the Best Victims? LP
This is the debut full-length album from old-school rock band The Authentics. This genre has seen something of a resurgence in recent times, with bands like The Glitterati, The Ga*Ga’s and The Imperial Vipers all gaining popularity and notoriety.
The Authentics plough a similar furrow to all of those bands. Already having garnered good reviews all over the place and extensive airplay from Pulse Unsigned, I was expecting great things as I popped this into the stereo. Sadly, the record never quite lives up to expectations.
Opener ‘Behind the Mask’ kicks in with a strident riff, but immediately the limitations of the band’s recording budget are obvious, as the strong riff loses its potency due to a muddy mix, while ‘Burn What Remains’ and ‘Pervert’ come perilously close to the pop-punk territory of Sum 41, rather than the outrageous rifforamic rock the band are so obviously aiming for.
That being said, The Authentics are quite obviously tight, have the nous to marry their riffs to strong hooks (see ‘Frustrations and Ultimatums’ and ‘Beat Me – For an Apology’). As so often is the case with an indie band however, I’m left thinking that they must be a quite stunning proposition live, and that their recorded output thus far wouldn’t quite measure up to the power that must be contained within the show this four-piece would be unable to unleash. I can smell the sweat from the mosh pit even as I sit here writing this.
This is thoroughly competent but really features nothing which you could call truly original, unfortunately. That said I’m certainly looking forward to hearing what The Authentics come up with next. They sound like a band deserving of a bigger recording budget and, as many sources claim them to be “the hardest working band in Leicester”, I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more from them in the coming months and years.
Guest article from Haydon S.
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