IPX has been a band for around 7 years now and they come from the US, showing it’s not just UK bands that send off their demos for us to review. The four-piece liken themselves to bands like Yellowcard, although there’s a far more guitar driven edge to them and less sheen than the band worshipped on MTV. This five tracker is actually very good. The bio put me off a bit – I was expecting something a little bouncy and nasty – but what I got was altogether more pleasing.
Tracks like ‘Darkest Road’ and ‘Six’ sound like a more melodic Early November, with driving guitars and plenty of melodies. The vocals work really, really well in places, although there is a tendancy to go overboard at times and some of the higher notes are slightly misplaced. ‘Ashes’ and ‘The Actor’ are really solid efforts too, with both having elements of bands like Daphne Meets Derby in their sound, albeit a far more hooky version. The only difference between the two bands is that DMD has had a lot of internet publicity – given a bit of a push IPX could certainly make an impact. You can buy the record for $6 from their website and I’d heartily recommend you check them out.
www.ipxrox.com
Paul