Sound of Guns: Elementary of Youth EP
Sound of Guns: Elementary of Youth EP
Tuesday, 27, Oct 2009 04:30
Distiller Records, out now.
In a nutshell...
Decent yet forgettable indie rock.
What's it all about?
As a single, Elementary of Youth comes drenched head to toe in hype. It's had just about all of the media stop-offs on the way to becoming a hit - a big up from Zane Lowe and an appearance on Saturday morning indie love-in Soccer AM to name but two - and has now been bundled with three other tracks to form the Elementary of Youth EP.
Who's it by?
The horrendously named Sound of Guns have notched up a wealth of praise so far this year, with everyone from Steve Lamacq to Zane Lowe lavishing kind words upon them. The Liverpool five-piece have also paid their dues with a fairly exhaustive set of tours around the UK's toilet circuit and are now, if you believe all you read, set to step up and take over from the likes of the Music as the new indie rockers proud to doff their hats at the rock classics of the 70s.
As an example.
"The more you see, the less you feel/The more you hurt, the less you heal." - Elementary of Youth
What the others say
"The opening title track sounds like Roger Daltrey fronting the Courteeners, and it doesn't get any better in the three cuts that follow." - Nick Mitchell, theskinny.co.uk
"They produce a sound so immense that it makes the Manic Street Preachers sound like they must record all their albums in an outside dunny whilst standing in an old tin bath." - altsounds.com
So is it any good?
Sound of Guns are best described as frustrating. The Elementary of Youth EP shows glimpses of true Britpop anthems bubbling under the surface just dying to be let out, before being promptly drowned in a bathtub full of formulaic riffs and unconvincingly-delivered vocal lines.
While the band's PR material boasts of Led Zep and the Doors influences, the Music, Razorlight and Kings of Leon are much more immediately recognisable reference points.
There are times when the band's indie prog-rock sound breaks through, offering up genuinely enjoyable moments, but these are too few and far between to alleviate the deep-rooted frustration that their one part inspired, nine parts forgettable EP brings on.
There's a lacking of anything found here that sets Sound of Guns apart from the rest of the crowd. In fact, a listen through of the EP left me reaching for a copy of last year's hotly tipped - and now often forgotten - Bing Linda's superb debut album, as they do the whole indie prog thing a hell of a lot better.
There's the odd flash of excitement, particularly on the title track, but all in all it's just too unremarkable and forgettable to be worthy of any real praise. That's not to say that there's anything particularly wrong with the four tracks on offer, they're just a little too by-numbers to really stand out from the crowd.
Elementary of Youth does show glimpses of promise amid the identikit feel, but whether Sound of Guns can do enough to keep the attention of their audience and stamp their own mark for the duration of a full album remains very much an unanswered question.
5/10
Richard Chamberlain