Over the past few years female fronted rock bands have been on the rise; from the likes of pop-rockers Hayley Williams (Paramore) and Jenna McDougall (Tonight Alive), to the growls of Becca Macintyre (Marmozets) and Lynn Gunn (PVRIS), it seems the pool is only getting stronger. Enter Ash Costello and the guys in New Years Day, their infectious and dark back catalogue has been a slow progression over the past few years, but it seems latest offering ‘Malevolence’ is going to be their best yet.
The eerie introduction to ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ mirrors that of Escape The Fate’s ‘Choose Your Fate’ (2010), effortlessly setting the scene for not only the first track but for the whole album. Costello’s angelic vocals are juxtaposed against Nikki Misery’s screeching guitar perfectly, particularly in tracks ‘I’m About To Break You’ and ‘Left Inside’.Â
Having come in leaps and bounds since 2007’s ‘My Dear’, which left an outcome compared to a weaker Paramore, New Years Day have achieved to continue with their blend of contagious gothic rock. Produced and mixed by Erik Ron (The Word Alive, Motionless In White), ‘Malevolence’ is angsty, angry, and fierce. Without the usual balance of ballads and hard rock, New Years Day have loaded their 3rd studio album with enough energy to power a small city. Even slowest track ‘Suffer’ only lasts about 44 seconds till it punches you straight in the face with energetic screams and furious percussions.Â
From the sing-along worthy choruses and heartfelt lyrics in ‘Save Myself From Me’, to Nick Rossi’s head banging percussion in ‘Your Ghost’, this record showcases that New Years Day are not only adding to the league of strong female-fronted-bands, but they are bringing their addictive fierce gothic attitude with them.  Â
Standout track comes in form of ‘Defame Me’, which would bring out the cynic in the most optimistic person. Lyrically, Costello evokes a hateful beast that allows us to see a different side to her, this is most apparent with the power behind lines, “Go ahead and hate me/ I don’t care”. This enraged vibe is followed through to closing track ‘Malevolence’ which depicts the title perfectly: It’s furious, evil and simply malevolence to its core, as Costello’s vocals go from hauntingly angelic to poisoning growls in seconds.Â
Overall the saying goes that misery loves company, and with the negative feel created throughout ‘Malevolence’ it seems it also really loves this quartet. Certainly New Years Day may be alongside the likes of the names most loved on the covers of music magazines, however this record will skyrocket them into a whole different league. The UK are no doubt going to adore the hate in New Years Day.
NICOLE TIERNAN