The North-East is rapidly becoming one of emerging UK ‘scenes’, what with bands like Stories and Comets and The Mercury League forging ahead in the national stakes and the now defunct My Favourite Co-Pilot and 46 Itchy having also tasted some recognition. Toddler Records have also had a part to play in the rising talent, having nurtured bands and released some special records in the last year from the likes of MFCP and Caught In The Headlights. Their latest protegees are The New Lev Yashin, who come across like a less brash MFCP playing Jerry Built and Hundred Reasons covers.
There’s elements of Quicksand in there too, making it an angular riffery attack on the senses. The Guisborough fivesomes’ first release for Toddler is a quintet of songs which show plenty of promise, even if they don’t quite hit the spot. Tracks like ‘My Favourite’ rock out and you can almost see the shapes the guitarists throw as the instruments rattle and fire. ‘At Least I Have Morals’ is impressive with plenty of stop/start bits and more energy than a can of Lucozade, while ‘The Sex’ is fast and frenetic and impressive musically, but the vocals don’t quite come up to the levels the track deserves. Turn ’em up! The closing ‘Heart Wrenching Guitar Breaks’ perhaps offers the best hope for the future, showing the band are not all aggresive guitars and frenetic drum patterns. Sure there’s work to be done, but TNLY have set some sturdy foundations.
On the down side the production is extremely tinny and this does detract slightly from the listening. The guitars work well, but with more power could be even better. I suspect this is rectified live. The keyboards are also far too low in the mix and the vocals tend to get a bit lost and become slightly indecipherable at times. It’s not something which affects the listening too much, but it’s something that can be worked on. This EP hints at good things and a band that look set to forge a niche with their own sound. They’re not quite up to the standards of some of their former label mates just yet but The New Lev Yashin are definitely in the ‘ones to watch’ category.
www.thenewlevyashin.co.uk
Toddler Records
Paul