Fresh from a support stint on the Ataris recent tour, Welsh rockers Douglas have released a CD that shows plenty of promise. Weighing in at 17 minutes for its four tracks, it's certainly value-for-money.
Sounding like a cross between Scottish indie-rockers Idlewild and the sadly now defunct Three Colours Red, the first thing you notice about this EP is its terrible production. It really does sound like it was recorded in a garbage can. The guitars sound squally and the drums are at times over-bearing.
Live, this band are superb. Both energetic and entertaining, they often become a mass of tangled limbs strewn across the stage. On CD unfortunately this is all lost. But strip down the cheap production and you get a set of songs that grow with every listen, and a band that show enough promise to prove they are worthy of supporting big names.
Opener 'Block and Fall' is solid enough and 'Mules Hind Leg' may have a truly terrible title, but it sounds damn fine. Good drumming and soaring vocals mark a catchy enough song. 'Menthol Evacuation' (who gives the songs such terrible names?) sounds like an Idlewild cast-off, which in my humble opinion, is no bad thing. 'Trilby' is the most energetic song on the EP, and a better taste of a Douglas live experience.
Certainly not the finished article, but Douglas show enough promise to be filed away under the 'one-to-watch' moniker.
Paul Savage
