Onslow have been making a splas in the Norwich punk scene recently, with several gigs supporting the likes of Insaniac. This EP is their first recorded collection of three songs and is on sale for some paltry sum – well worth it, if you ask me. Why? Read on…
‘The Wiseman Was a Jackass’ is the first track, and the intro sounds like the opening to something heavy…then the bassline kicks in and the pace picks up. Greg’s vocals have a tinge of Brett Gurewitz about them, but definitely with a twang of English-ness about them. The setup may be minimal (guitar-vox-drums-bass) but Onslow pull it off by using this simplicity to their advantage. The chord sequences aren’t rocket science, but they’re done very tightly and the consistent fast pace is reminiscent of Consumed or Gash.
The lighter ‘Your Way’ is not as immediate as the other tracks, simply because it doesn’t shows the band’s talents off until a calm interlude comes around that shows the sensitive (aaah, sunsets!) side of Onslow before the fast pace kicks back in. The bass seems to drive this track, with Bad Religion once again being the major soundalike (this is a compliment, if you happen to not know Bad Religion).
The final track goes by the name of ‘Throwing Coppers at Coppers’ and is heralded by a intelligent bass riff that is soon met by the guitar line before moving to a more traditional muted punk sound that NOFX have made their trademark. The singalong factor is high for the choruses with the backing vocals giving that little push for the song so it can rise above standard punk fare of this kind. That’s the thing about Onslow – they don’t do anything especially different, but they do do tight, fast punk rock that does exactly what it says on the tin: rocks. Norwich people – go see them.
Ben
www.onslow.tk