Census are a kind of emo rock supergroup, with former members of Otherwise, ComaKai and Mine all now in the one band. I guess it would be easy to bracket Census as ‘the new Otherwise‘ because musically there are slight similarities, but it’s vocally where there is the biggest change. New singer Gemma Mather provides a welcome change from the norm, so while the post-hardcore/rock guitars bounce and collide off some interesting bass-lines, the vocals act as something which helps Census stand out from the pack.
Tracks like ‘Borderland’ and ‘The Bookmaker’ shows plenty of talent; it’s refreshing to see that bands are not afraid to change things around and mix styles up. Chris Wooding and Paul Coleman, the two former Otherwise members, play completely different instruments to what they did in their former band, and it’s this fresh take on things which means Census are not your run of the mill band. There’s plenty of promise here and a longer release could prove interesting listening.
I_love_census@hotmail.com
Paul