Album review: THE ARKANES – W.A.R.

October 2nd, 2014 by Davoski

SPV Records [Release date 19.05.14]

A Liverpudlian four-piece discovered in the Cavern Club and flown out to Germany… sound familiar? Well no-one here is saying that guitar groups are on the way out. And thankfully no further Beatles references will be required. Possibly.

‘W.A.R.’ is a vibrant, pleasingly eclectic mix of primarily indie rock delivered with swagger and energy. It is the debut album by the band following on the heels of an EP ‘Don’t Act Like You Know Me’ in 2010.

The album makes a strong start with a trio of belters. ‘Onus’ races out of the blocks with urgent lyrics and edgy guitar. Next up, ‘Sharpshooter’, originally to be found on that EP, is tight, riff-driven and impactful. ‘Command:Turn:Revolt’ is arguably better with spikes of bright psychedelic guitar over a powerhouse drum track.

Inevitably, the platter can’t maintain that frenetic pace and the standard drops a bit thereafter. There is a big handful of really good tracks on show here though. ‘Terracotta’ for instance, is all chunky, loose riffage underpinning slices of melodic guitar. Title track ‘W.A.R.’ delivers a complex, insistent rhythm and guitar weave coupled with the most passionate and complete vocal performance on the album.

Frontman Chris Pate put the band together in 2007 with bassman Lee Dummett and they have been honing their sound on the road since then. Guitars are handled with diverse aplomb by Dylan Cassin and the tubs are well and truly thumped by Andrew Long.

The overall feel of the album would put one in the mood for a bit of Stereophonics, with a dollop of Oasis on the side. The jangly influence of many Mersey guitar bands is also present and a hint of the Fab Four in some of the arrangements. Perhaps that’s inevitable given their provenance. Less expected is the whiff of Nirvana and a psychedelic tinged Led Zep.

A sparkly, shiny debut with just enough undertones of more challenging material to come. ***½

Review by Dave Atkinson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)