McGraw are Manchester-based and play a rock and roll fueled skate-punk that doesn’t really do much for me. ‘The Movie’ is a three-track EP which also has an intro and an outro, but within 9 and a half minutes it does nothing to warrant further inspection. That’s not to say what the band do is all that bad, it’s just uninspiring and not that great to listen to.
‘Mindbender’ is a decent track, with strong guitar riffs and vocals, but it’s too mid-paced to stand out. Maybe live the song would be better, but to be honest it just sounds like a local band putting out their first demo to get them gigs. If this is actually the aim of the CD, then it will probably help them in the Greater Manchester region – but if I was a promoter there’s little here to inspire me to want to put them on. ‘Wrong Way Morning’ is a better song, but McGraw play a brand of music that really needs to grab you by the balls and knock you out. It’s not ferocious enough to make an impact. It’s all a bit bland really.
McGraw will probably make an impact locally and do quite well for themselves, but on the basis of ‘The Movie’ there’s very little to get me in the mood. The intro and outro tracks are also absolutely pointless – the latter is merely 20 seconds of silence and a two second roar – which even then is more pussy cat and pissed off lion.
www.geocities.com/mcgrawrocksus
Self-Released
Paul