West Yorkshire lads MATADORS have evidently been raised on a heavy dose of punk. The type of punk that attracted hundreds wearing Doc Martin‘s and braces to grotty venues around the United Kingdom as a reaction to an underground generation and a product of its time.
This more “traditional” punk largely exists now as an influence and within a number of extremely successful bands that underpin their music with instrumentation and vocal styles developed in the 1970s and 80s. In order to triumphantly conquer this genre, there’s a need to demonstrate a huge amount of passion, and it’s therefore disappointing that ‘On The Hook’ fails to deliver in that aspect.
No matter how high the volume is turned up, ‘On The Hook’ never sounds loud, and MATADORS come without the ferocity that characterised the sound. There are times when the vocals come close to passionaite, but any attempt to cement the fierceness is quickly nullified by the inclusion of uncomplimentary melody. This melody is insufficient to classify the album as melodic, and is often too dominant to conserve any intensity.
There are a handful of redeeming moments on the LP, particularly the punchy drums and heavy guitar riffs of the title track, and the rock’n’roll infusion of ‘Seacroft’. Unfortunately, these moments are too isolated to truly gain a significant amount from the record. ‘On The Hook’ is too reserved to appeal to the punk traditionalists it is aiming at, and too shallow to engage a new audience.
BEN TIPPLE