The Wharves / The Rosy Crucifixion - Split Album (Soft Power
Records)
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| The Wharves |
Release Date: 25th November 2013
Two bands, one album and twelve
songs for your delectation today. First up, London trio The Wharves bring us
haunting/haunted all girl vocal harmonies with 'Thick Syrup' followed by the
Monster Mash meets B52s via the Bangles fun of 'Unhand Me'. The running theme
with these songs is already apparent in the throbbing, poppy basslines and
wailing but melodic vocal harmonies that bring to mind the likes of the Nature
Set and September Girls. 'Motif' has a dramatic and macabre feel to it whilst
'Woodchip' channels Kate Pierson in triplicate which is, well, wondrous. The
impish delights of 'Past Life 1887' play out over the briefest of moments before
giving way to the prog meets punk tendencies of 'Deepwater Horizons' which is like
the daughters of Led Zeppelin having a go at a bit of Queen. Appealing in a
world of ways.
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| The Rosy Crucifixion |
A slight shift in styles sees us
pop in on the world of The Rosy Crucifixtion, an intriguingly named bunch from
Glasgow. The waspish openings of 'Do You Right' coupled with the Buddy
Holly-esque drum sounds and slick yet frail vocals suggest there is something darkly
powerful on offer here. That is a suggestion that is brought to fruition by the
dual bass and guitar riff of 'Lose Yourself' which comes steaming in like steam
train picking up pace all the way along. The slinky, sexy bass that introduces
'Sinners' is like a beautifully curved woman walking in to a room with a wink
to all the boys and a flash of thigh as she approaches the bar to order a
double bourbon, straight up - sexy but no messing. 'Dr Zaiden' (no, me neither)
has a Tarantino meets Dick Dale feel to it which is just fine by me while 'Hot
In My Head' is Nancy Sinatra gone bad. Real bad. Finishing up with the sonic
assault of 'Night Of The Wailers', The Rosy Crucifixion are a band that match
style with substance perfectly and then smother it with a thick layer of
distortion which makes it extra tasty.
More information:
The Wharves - https://www.facebook.com/TheWharves
The Rosy Crucifixion - https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rosy-Crucifixion/258024560911467