Narcs - Two Birds, One Stone Later (Clue Records)
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| NARCS - Two Birds, One Stone Later |
Release Date: 2nd September 2013
Stop what you're doing. Put it
down. Look at me. Are you paying attention? Sure? Good. What I am about to tell
you is very important and might, just might, change your life: NARCS have an
album out and it is very, very good. One the face of it, these are 4 ordinary
lads from Leeds with guitars and drums but it doesn't take long to realise that
NARCS have got something a bit special, something a little different. Just to
ensure they get a Parental Guidance Advisory sticker, the album starts with the
drunken and expletive ridden rantings of on old man before 'Souvenir' comes
crashing through your living room wall like an out of control car full of
laughing, menacing young men ready to shake you awake. These guys have the
politicised desperation of early Manic Street Preachers but with heavier riffs
and more swagger which is no bad way to be in my book. 'Sandchild' follows with
the pace continuing unrelentingly and singer Wilko sneering "that's the
wrong way to die" to anyone who'll listen. Debut single '19' is up next, a
song which I already love musically, but on learning that the oh-so-confident
lyrics relate to the number of Prime Ministers that have come from one school
(Eton) I have decided that I might just have to have NARCS' babies. These guys
mix that early lyrical ingenuity that the Arctic Monkeys showed but skilfully
combine it with much more rock'n'roll bravado and tunes with hooks so big you
could hang a rack of meat from them.
"People, don't adjust your pedestal
heights", so starts the brooding 'Creatures' which would be my choice of
next single owing to its rumbling menace and shout along chorus that would have
throngs of sweaty students around the country in reveries this autumn given
half a chance. Seemingly, 'Coast to Coast' is the first let up in the
aggression from NARCS as it has a slightly more laid back vibe but the crashing
drums and screaming guitar keep the tempo high enough that the album doesn't
lose any momentum. And then comes 'Collisions'. The disorientating, feedback
heavy opening brings back memories of first hearing Rage Against The Machine and
not knowing whether to cry, dance, laugh or just listen. This is a huge, rangy
song that moves from walls of noise and distortion to nothing but the brilliantly
uncomfortable sound of Wilko's vocals against a back drop of absolute silence;
every throat tearing roar and spit laden pronouncement there for everyone to
hear. I often have arguments with people that music shouldn't be there just to
make you feel good, it can make you feel a huge range of emotions and I'm glad
to say NARCS are great supporters of this theory and, even more pleasingly,
they've got the lyrics to back that up.
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| NARCS didn't think much of their lounge makeover |
'Karaoke' is perhaps the most
Arctic Monkeys track as NARCS turn the cross-hairs on the X-Factor culture that
seems to spread throughout music, putting anyone with a notion of talent in
front of a public firing squad to be judged by a self appointed and self
obsessed jury of nobodies peers. 'High Commissioner' is arguably the weakest
track on the album but it would be hard for any band to maintain such a high
level of quality for ten songs, never mind a band on their first album. Penultimate
track, 'Irregular Reader', initially sees a more tender side of NARCS emerge
before they smash it to pieces and rise triumphant with a chest beating, finger
pointing song, declaring "I'm worth my weight in gold". As the song
fades out with a few cheeky bass flicks, the final song, the eight minute
behemoth of 'Tall Grass' looms on the horizon and the gentle guitars and near
whispered vocals begin what is destined to be an emotional journey. As the
tension and mood builds like dark clouds gathering on the edge of town, Wilko's
vocals get increasingly desperate, the cymbals splash louder, the bass rumbles
and then all is calm again as the neo-classical guitar signals the beginning of
the end. Then all hell breaks loose and you can almost hear the determination
and sweat being wrought from every note and every beat these four young lads
are playing. Then, just to flex their musical muscles, the guys break in to a
Doors-esque jam before building to a second crescendo that has Queens Of The
Stoneage written all over it and by this stage there are people all over the
stage, girls have taken their tops off and boys are crying because they don't
know what to feel anymore. And then it's done. You will feel like you've been
chewed up and spat out but you will also want to go back to 'Souvenirs' and
start the whole experience again. NARCS are a little bit like a rollercoaster
with a political agenda and some serious twists but one that you will go
straight to the back of the queue to ride again and again and again. You can
get back to whatever it was you were doing now - unless it was watching the X
Factor in which case I'll be sending four angry Leeds lads round to 'have a
word'.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/NARCSband
Live Dates:
9th August - Holbeck WMC, Holbeck
16th August - The Hop, Wakefield
31st August - Packhorse, Leeds (w/Allusondrugs) - ALBUM
LAUNCH
21st September - Vintage Rock Bar, Doncaster
26th September - Doc Browns, Middlesbrough
28th September - Barca Live, Manchester
26th October - Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds (part of OXJAM)
12th November - The Keys (Mixtape), Middlesbrough
17th November - Blues Bar, Harrogate