I don’t know much about Spoilers but I can tell you one thing, their new ep “There or Thereabouts” is killer.
All the blurb about them says they’re a melodic punk band but for my money, they are so much more, they’re tight, sound amazing and yes while they’re melodic there is also an old-school hardness to their sound. The lead single “Peaches and Cream” gets proceedings underway with a cacophony of sound of distorted guitars, bass and crashing drums with Dan’s muted/strained vocals sounding awesome, for all the noise the underlying rhythm is infectious, a kicking way to open up. “None Taken” while still having that kicking rhythm like the opener there is a harder edge to it, the guitars are sharper, the drums are harder and there is more of an intense feel, but the contradiction to it all is the melodic vocals from Dan, they don’t feel right and shouldn’t suit the song but they do a real testament to the band’s ability to integrate different styles. “Straight Lines” is a straight-up punk track, with no frills just a balls-out-in-your-face two-minute beast, you couldn’t ask for more.
“Skip To The End” feels like a Bad Religion song; short sharp verses that kick into a big singalong chorus’ with great harmonies, the drum beat really sets the tone and the rest of the band jump on board with some killer riffs and thumping bass as Dan takes it to another level. The bouncing beat of “The Good Life” is savage, Stuart’s heavy bass line and Leon’s thumping drums lay a great foundation for both Ben and Dan to trade off with some cool riffs, the sound is massive and it has a big anthemic feel to it, this is brilliant. “IWHOI” ups the intensity with cutting riffs and a powerful drum and bass beat, Dan matches his vocals to the pace of the song only getting a bit of respite at the chorus, another banger. Title track “There or Thereabouts” rocks big time, a deadly drum beat and thumping bass line run the show backed up by crunching riffs from Ben and Dan, whose vocals are once again immense, a cool punchy track. The ep closes with “One More Song”, never has there been a more apt title for a song, a rumbling bass line opens this one before a killer drum beat rolls over the top of it with fast riffs ripping it up throughout the verse and when the chorus hits the harshness drops and a more melodic side kicks in, this back and forth is what makes this song what it is and as the title says you’ll be begging for one more.
For my money you can’t go wrong with this; it’s tight and fresh but there is a rawness to it that screams old school, a fantastic ep and a great way to re-announce yourselves.
Review: Conor
There Or Thereabouts is out this Friday courtesy of Sbam Records.
Pre-save: https://bfan.link/there-or-
Order at shop.sbam.rocks
Spoilers are:
Dan Goatham Lead vocals and guitar
Ben Davis Rhythm guitar, vocals
Stuart Randall Bass
Leon Packer Drums
Track Listing:
1 – Peaches and cream
2 – None Taken
3 – Straight Lines
4 – Skip To The End
5 – The Good Life
6 – IWHOI
7 – There Or Thereabouts
8 – One More Song
