The Western Mechanism,
Days of WorthWell, here’s the next big thing in the UK Rock Scene! Well, at least that’s what THEY want you to think. If you have heard of this outfit from Surrey, then you have no doubt heard comparisons between them and such legendary bands as Soundgarden, Janes Addiction and, erm, Manic Street Preachers!?!? All sounds pretty impressive huh? Well let’s see….
The first track, ‘Standard Suburban Anthem’, begins with a soft and quiet intro that is invariably going to crescendo into what we should believe to be a ‘ten storey’ guitar riff. Unfortunately, the introduction to this song is so damn laboured that when you finally get to crux of the track, it all seems too little too late! The melody is certainly nothing to write home about, with the chorus being very anti climatic and forgettable which, to be honest, pretty much sums up the rest of this album.
I can see where the Soundgarden references have come from. ‘It’s a Beautiful View’, certainly has that typical ‘Badmotorfinger’ styled driving, yet laid back riff which made Soundgarden so memorable but the rest of what is being played really lets the whole thing down. The vocalist reminds me a little of John from Neds Atomic Dustbin with the way that he over pronounces certain words. However, his voice just isn’t strong enough to make much of an impact on you and when he does try and beef it up for the obvious ‘Rock’ parts of the songs, it just sounds so put on that it leaves a rather bad taste in your mouth.
I’d say the main saving grace in this band, for me, is the bass player. He’s obviously a very talented man! All the bass lines in this album are exceptionally melodic, again reminiscent of the kind of thing you would hear in a Neds or Senseless Things track. It’s just a shame that these low frequency lines of melodic beauty are being used with the kind of blandness that could send even the most hardened insomniac into a deep sleep. In fact, I’m starting to drop off myself from having to write about it!
There is one stand out song on this album and that is ‘Youth Base Setter’. It starts with a solid, nod your head along, Lost Prophets - esque growling riff which eventually works its way into a pump your fist, shout along chorus. I could imagine this being a big crowd favourite when they play live. But apart from that track, I would not recommend you insulting your CD player with this album unless you really need to hear another UK band who are, at best, bordering on the mediocre. If you want to hear a good quality debut from a similar sounding band, go out and find Hundred Reasons’ ‘Ideas Above Our Station’ from the bargain bins.
sami
