The Darwin Theory are your average rock meets post-hardcore band. Hailing from Sheffield, they play a sound that’s very Rival Schools, with a hint of someone like Fightstar.
Opening track ‘Cut & Bleed’ sounded weird at first. Probably because my brain subconsciously thought I was about to hear a Slipknot song, but as I listened through the CD I realised it pretty much epitomised the entire sound: mediocre. The drums are frequently too tinny, especially on the opening track. Guitar work is generally pretty good but the vocals need work: they sound distinctly off the higher the pitch becomes. Very much like they’re being squeezed out of vocalist Liv Puente, rather than him being the one to pull the strings, so to speak.
There’s the odd flash of promise, I admit. ‘Underneath my skin’ has a fairly smart intro, but then it starts to trail off downhill in an untraceable meandering of vocal laments. Track 3 ‘3 Days Sober’ is probably the best one on there: riff-based rather than relying on building a rhythm which invariably disappoints upon reaching any form of crescendo. Again, though, the vocals just don’t seem to quite ‘fit’. This is the kind of sound these guys should aim for, but it needs a fair deal of refinement. An attempt at a slightly heavier sound could lead to some nice moments of invention, I think.
At the moment this is just too ‘safe’ and ‘nice’; the latter being oft-cited as one of the more cringe-worthy words available to any reviewer. I want to be grabbed by the balls.
www.myspace.com/thedarwintheory
Spud