Sadly for Mr Belding we misplaced their CD they sent in for review about 2 months ago, so I’m sure one day one of our reviewing team will find it down the back of the sofa. Anyway, the Exeter quintet now have a fully fledged review for their latest effort, which is also their first for Hollow Soul Records. The band, which started in 2002, say they play a form of melodic hardcore but I’d state they seem to have an identity crisis. At times Mr Belding (and yes, it is a Saved By The Bell reference) come across as a Bad Religion-esque skate punk band and pull it off well. But then in the swift blink of an eye the band pull out full on metal solos and dredge up some pretty generic screaming and shouting. If this was actually a split EP with two different bands I wouldn’t be surprised.
Tracks like the opening ‘Sourtrip’ are melodic and punky, harking back to classic Bad Religion. The vocals are poppy but well performed, the guitars crisp and clean and overall the track is a great start to the CD. But from here on in lies the problem – which face of Mr belding shall we see next? The harsher ‘Touched by God, Kissed By Judas’ resorts to screaming (which I’ve really had enough of now, let’s face it, unless you can really bellow it’s generic) while ‘Make It Sexy For The Tabloids’ lasts just nine seconds. There are crazy songs with 80s hair metal parts and drums which could easily have come from more modern hardcore bands.
The end result is that Mr Belding really need to decide which route to go down. Are they a skate punk band or something a little more sinister? I feel they are at their best when they’re more melodic and singing rather than shouting – but then that’s just me. As it stands, Mr Belding get lost in the crowd because even they don’t really know which direction to go in. Clearly a talented band, they need to set their stall out and stick to it and only then will they reap the rewards.
www.mrbelding.net
Paul