Tis’ the season to be jolly, fa-la la-la-la, la-la-like-fuck it is….let’s talk about Christmas. Every year we spend offensive amounts of money on food, drink and presents because one day, a little boy was supposedly born very unhygienically in a stable, in a pile of hay, surrounded by animals and a frightening amount of NHS health and safety violations…to a woman named Mary who claimed to be a virgin…(Joseph mate she’s having you on by here and I’d call Jeremy Kyle for a DNA test ASAP…) Yes she claimed immaculate conception and that the father was God, and the baby, who we now know as Jesus Christ, the Messiah (Not Brian, no, he was a very naughty boy) became one of the most important figures in organised religion with a following of over 2 Billion people worldwide and also, the acclaimed host of the call-in show “Jesus And Pals” on SOUTH PARK. All of this…because his mother Mary had an affair resulting in her concocting an ENTIRE RELIGION to hide it from Joseph, who was either naïve or high on animal glue from his woodwork and went along with it. And now that that’s off my chest…let’s talk about a band that links perfectly with my ranting; THE VIRGINMARYS.
Formed in Macclesfield in 2009 and now only consisting of vocalist/guitarist Ally Dickaty plus drummer Danny Dolan, the VM’s have become one of the UK’s most acclaimed up and coming indie-rock artists with several well received EP’s and albums, not to mention Classic Rock awards nominations…and this year they hope to continue in the same vein of quality with their latest EP entitled ”Sitting Ducks”…let’s check it out. The EP opens up with the title track and we’re off to a simple start…with only basic percussion and a predominantly bass-driven intro it takes a while to warm up, but we don’t have to wait long before we’re met with more melody and substance, until the chorus bursts into life with a flurry of passion. The tempo throughout is generally steady and it carries with it a certain swagger aided by that big, bold chorus…the additional guitar solo sequence breaks the track up nicely and there’s nothing to not enjoy about this track once it’s gotten going; a strong start.
We follow up with the lead single taken off the EP “Sweet Loretta (You Know Me Better)” and it’s got a great build up…no nonsense, hard rocking indie that steadily intensifies, utilising a solid groove throughout, for the most part a real foot-tapper of a track but the chorus…the chorus sadly lets you down feeling just a little anti-climactic…it lacks the edge the rest of the track hooks you with and suffers ever so slightly from repetition…it’s a bit hit and miss this. “Through The Sky” then has shades of KINGS OF LEON dotted throughout in some aspects, fully embracing an indie rock tone…its smoother, it’s mellow but the guitar solo here is slick and smile-inducing, eventually ending the track on a mildly chaotic flurry…this is far from anti-climactic and is much, much better. Finally then we close up on “Sleep” and it’s ironic as we’ve got the dreariest track on offer last…though the acoustic harmonies are both quaint charming, and it’s clear the emotions here are raw, the sadness is unavoidable and there are moments where Ally’s vocals simply grate on your ears when he releases his pain…yet beautiful is the suffering. Overall however the four tracks here get you through a very pleasant quarter of an hour and the EP as a whole is an enjoyable listen. [7]
Formed in Macclesfield in 2009 and now only consisting of vocalist/guitarist Ally Dickaty plus drummer Danny Dolan, the VM’s have become one of the UK’s most acclaimed up and coming indie-rock artists with several well received EP’s and albums, not to mention Classic Rock awards nominations…and this year they hope to continue in the same vein of quality with their latest EP entitled ”Sitting Ducks”…let’s check it out. The EP opens up with the title track and we’re off to a simple start…with only basic percussion and a predominantly bass-driven intro it takes a while to warm up, but we don’t have to wait long before we’re met with more melody and substance, until the chorus bursts into life with a flurry of passion. The tempo throughout is generally steady and it carries with it a certain swagger aided by that big, bold chorus…the additional guitar solo sequence breaks the track up nicely and there’s nothing to not enjoy about this track once it’s gotten going; a strong start.
We follow up with the lead single taken off the EP “Sweet Loretta (You Know Me Better)” and it’s got a great build up…no nonsense, hard rocking indie that steadily intensifies, utilising a solid groove throughout, for the most part a real foot-tapper of a track but the chorus…the chorus sadly lets you down feeling just a little anti-climactic…it lacks the edge the rest of the track hooks you with and suffers ever so slightly from repetition…it’s a bit hit and miss this. “Through The Sky” then has shades of KINGS OF LEON dotted throughout in some aspects, fully embracing an indie rock tone…its smoother, it’s mellow but the guitar solo here is slick and smile-inducing, eventually ending the track on a mildly chaotic flurry…this is far from anti-climactic and is much, much better. Finally then we close up on “Sleep” and it’s ironic as we’ve got the dreariest track on offer last…though the acoustic harmonies are both quaint charming, and it’s clear the emotions here are raw, the sadness is unavoidable and there are moments where Ally’s vocals simply grate on your ears when he releases his pain…yet beautiful is the suffering. Overall however the four tracks here get you through a very pleasant quarter of an hour and the EP as a whole is an enjoyable listen. [7]
RSS Feed