The number of awesome young UK bands rising through the ranks is incredible. Throwing their hat into the ring is Hartlepool’s My Favourite Co-Pilot, a band who impressed me loads when I saw them supporting My Awesome Compilation six weeks ago. But they’ve not just impressed me – big London labels are sniffing around and Kerrang! gave them a 4K review. I hate to agree with them, but for once Kerrang! are right. MFCP are a great young band and are indeed going places.
‘South Drive’ is nothing short of being one of the best UK releases this year. Out on Toddler Records it’s raw, passionate and bites harder than a Rottweiler on heat. With an incendary live performance it’s not hard to see why the critics are clambering all over them. While not strictly keeping to the post-hardcore/emo script, the band do take elements from the vogue US bands of a similar ilk like Taking Back Sunday, chew it all up and then spit out their own north-eastern slant. There’s impassioned screams galore, driving guitars and basslines and crashing drums, all mixed alongside some sweet melodies. You know you’re on to a winner when your mum asks what that ‘racket’ is on the stereo…
‘Kiss Me I’m Bleeding’ opens and closes the album in different guises. Rocking out to begin with, the track caresses the listeners ears during the verses before ripping open an ear drum with a spitting, manic vocal through the chorus. When recreated to finish the record in acoustic form it’s stripped down bare and beautiful, always the sign of a good song when you can take it to pieces and still make it sound fresh. ‘Falling Not Flying’ is arguably a little more accessible to the more commercial-minded among us, drifting in and out of a melodic riff with John Hoy-Taylor’s vocals stretching the basslines. And I dare you not to sing along through the catchier parts of ‘Everything’ which is also littered with piercing screams and other such variations in the vocals.
‘Your Voice’ is superb stuff, slowly building up into something memorable while the slower track ‘In Theory’ shows the band’s tender side without tripping up into the world of contrived Dashboard Confessional-style Starbuck-emo. Contrast this with the metallic ‘A Memory Of You’, which really takes an interesting turn, both with down tuned riffs and a vocal that could tear you a new asshole, and you have a record which is as interesting as it is challenging. It’s a record I’ve had for six weeks and I’m still getting into it – something which rarely happens with so much stuff to listen to. ‘Ex-Miss Wyoming’ continues the high standards and ‘Would You?’ is possibly my favourite song on the entire album. It punishes and soothes at the same time and is even better in a live setting.
Certainly not as shiny as some of their American counterparts, ‘South Drive’ is as gritty and real as the towns up in the north. With MFCP and The Next Autumn Soundtrack leading the charge there’s no reason why the north of England cannot be the new New York/New Jersey. Seriously, buy this record and witness a band on the verge of something special.
www.myfavouritecopilot.co.uk
Paul