Never judge a book by it’s cover kids. I totally wrote this release off the first couple of times I heard it, but then something clicked and it all made sense. Released on London’s acclaimed indie label Fierce Panda, a label noted for releasing just about every conceivable kind of music, this is the first time I’d encountered Further and suffice to say, they eventually managed to greatly impress me.
What was the hardest obstacle to overcome was the quality of the first two tracks. They’re really bad; insipid and vacant guitar rock that doesn’t go anywhere except the ‘Skip’ button. Reminiscent of …Trail Of Dead, they don’t add anything to the album and consist mainly of whining guitars and repetitive drumming. While there are some nice melodic interludes which slow the pace quite effectively, they never last long enough and it all descends into a howling cacophony of distortion and feedback.
But all you need to do is imagine that ‘punkrockvampires’ starts with ‘A Guild of 4′ and sit back. This is a dirty mix of New York Dolls and Iggy and The Stooges style punk rock, all punctuated with some thoughtful guitar work. The aforementioned track is a soothing comedown which lilts with light guitars and calm drumming, and it is this style which is continued throughout the quite beautiful ‘Yesterday’s Enemy’. Suddenly the sound becomes bigger – not necessarily heavier, but bigger – and the larger scale of the brooding, powerful ‘Verse-Minus’ almost creeps up on you. Beginning with a slight wail of feedback and gradually dissolving into a messy rock-out that has an intensity which many bands consciously try to capture, but never manage to.
Further defy categorisation as the album progresses. There are so many different styles of music, ranging from the violent sleaze of garage punk to an almost indie-like calmness which serves to create an atmosphere and a unique sound which manages to be almost dream-like in the use of melody and harmony. ‘Reactor’ has so many layers of exquisite sound and melody that all compliment each other while never detracting from the leading guitar lines. I can’t place which song or band ‘Ignite the Hearts of the Glorious’ reminds me off, but it’s a frantic bass-driven song with a strong vocal presence and screeching guitars. Once again, Further have changed their approach but manage to keep the overall style and character of their music to powerful effect, with the driving guitars competing with the bass and drums to see who can make the most noise.
The epic (12 minutes., 37seconds, thank you very much!) closing track is a massively sprawling soundscape which acts as a summarising conclusion of the album as a whole. Quiet, brooding vocals preside over the soft music, with more light melodies giving way to a larger chorus. This track needs to be played on a massive PA because it’s just so damn indescribable. You’ll no doubt have noticed that this review has been pretty crap as far as actual descriptions of the music go, but that’s because it’s so evocative that I think that everyone will hear this album in a slightly different way. ‘punkrockvampires’ definitely won’t appeal to everyone, but if you fancy something a little different that requires some work, then I’d recommend it.
Ben