Let’s be honest, Perth isn’t exactly reknown for its amazingly vibrant rock scene. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any acts out there flying the flag. Take this Crieff-based alt.rock four-piece, for example. With their dark yet uplifting music, packed with all sorts of guitar effects, piano and explorative vocals, they are Perthshire town’s answer to the likes of Placebo, with some early Muse and Kasabian elements mixed in as well on this, their debut album.
Tracks such as ‘Polaroid’ and ‘Harlequin’ stand out as highlight but it’s the second half of the album, in particular, that does the band justice as they achieve their own genuine sound. The Placebo influence is back but it’s not overly distracting, the band introduce more funky rhythms to accompany their dark ambience making for a very interesting contrast. The experimentation continues in ‘Mindus’ which is reminiscent of certain Radiohead tracks with its robotised vocals as Paul Petrie flirts with his own vocal range, discovering his boundaries just as Thom Yorke would.
The album comes to a close with ‘Place Of The Unknown’, a sort of dark country style track with the lyrics almost telling a story. The track builds up to a full on all or nothing rock ballad which wouldn’t sound out of place during a dramatic scene in a movie. Definitely worth a listen for fans of dark, brooding alt-rock with an experimental side.
