Auction For The Promise Club – Silence (Easy Action/Zen Ten)
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| Auction for the Promise Club - Silence |
Release Date: 9th June 2017
For the first two and a bit
minutes of this album we are witness to nothing more or less than the
approaching sound of the apocalypse. Sure, it starts off with an innocent synth
melody twisting in the wind but as the dust clouds roar in to view and the
animals start circling you know something big is coming. Ladies and gentlemen,
this is ‘Silence’ and it is bloody enormous. The desperate drums and guitars
clash in a flurry of cymbals a sense of “now or never” courses through your
veins as your instincts hit fever pitch and then…. peace. The softly powerful
voice of Zoe White Chambers is the eye of the storm but don’t think for one
second that this is over – this is just the first tune of an album hell bent on
dragging you kicking and screaming in to a new world.
St Agnes trio Auction for the
Promise Club have been on a number of radars for a while now but they have been
resolutely going about their business and the result of that business is one of
the most stunning debut albums I have heard in a very long time. Recent single ‘See
Through’ is up next in all its twisting, snarling garage pomp as you throw a
bag of belongings in the back of your track and head for the hills while your
house crumbles in the rear-view mirror. As realisation sinks in, the tough-love
of ‘This May Hurt’ strides in with its razor-sharp guitars and rumbling drums
made slightly easier to swallow by the bubble-gum sweet chorus and that voice,
oh that voice. There is some respite on ‘Dancer’ where the likes of Duran Duran
and Shihad are channelled to keep the tempo up and the alt-pop as slick and
sophisticated as you could reasonably hope for.
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| AFTPC - Wet Feet |
‘Time To Breathe’ is more angular
and puts me in mind of some glorious mash up that never happened between
Garbage and the Cardigans with a chorus that should have festival crowds
singing along in euphoria. The half way point of the album is ‘Ghosts’ and for
the first time there is a let up in pace as the trio explore their more
prog-rock side and the drumming of Toby White Chambers is given to explore
those Stuart Copeland influences in full. There is a dystopian, Muse-esque feel
to ‘City’ to begin with before it settles in a straight-up indie-pop romp that
is perfect for night driving through neon lit landscapes. Some 90s Grunge guitar
sounds from the most Cornish sounding axe-wielder Perran Tremewan on ‘Isn’t It
Enough?’ are matched by White Chambers’ desperate vocal while former single ‘Moonlight’
is as urgent, immediate and breathless as ever it was.
That bubble-gum garage bounce is
back on the glorious ‘Cut So Close’ as they grab the mic with both hands and
chat up the entire front row with a wink and a lip curl. ‘Instincts’ has a
slightly reminiscing vibe to it but the frantic click of the drums are all
about moving forwards and leaving the dead behind you, where they belong. Final
track ‘Mexico’ brings that Armageddon vibe as the realisation settles in that
to survive the nuclear winter there’s only one place to go – ironically protected
from the worst of the blast by Trump’s ridiculous wall. As the dreamy vocals
and ethereal guitar notes slide off over the horizon it’s hard not to puff your
cheeks out and look around, full of a new found respect for the world we have
for the time being. Still, if you’re going to go out of this world you might as
well do it with a bang and an awesome soundtrack courtesy of Cornwall’s hottest
trio. I bet they have their own bunker too.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/auctionforthepromiseclubmusic/
Live Dates:
9th June – Royal Cornwall Show, Wadebridge
9th June – Album Launch @ Driftwood Spars, Saint
Agnes w/ Wolf Note + Waxx
10th June – Album Launch @ Mono, Falmouth w/Wolf
Note
30th June – St Mary’s Hall, Appledore