Review by Paul Hutchings for MPM
A huge favourite on the social media chat pages of 2000 Trees and Arctangent, I will happily admit to knowing nothing about this band. Sure, I’d seen their name around, but not even a toe had been dipped into their musical waters.
Four albums since their formation in 2008, headline shows at Wembley Arena and Alexandra Palace and a number one album for last album Amazing Things. Clearly something ticks with this band. And they certainly have a diverse sound that combines many styles which I can see would appeal to large numbers of the alternative rock and pop rock community. Big singalong choruses, huge sound, layered production and constant time changes – all here in spades.
The title track features Nickelback. Yep, the US stadium giants, whilst Architects main man Sam Carter brings ferocity to True Believers. Two tracks that sit in the middle of the record, and which probably sum up the band’s versatility in under nine minutes.
The latter has huge breakdowns, the post-hardcore rage and screaming vocals together with a soaring central chorus that fights to get heard about the thunderous delivery. It’s one of the better songs here for me, cohesive and aggressive with a brutal finish. Nightmare Tripping is totally different with an industrial stomp that crunches before a sickly-sweet chorus worm into the head. There’s a real shift here, with rap mixed with boy band mixed with hardcore vocally. It’s a crazy mix that for this old metal head is a bit too heady a mix.
But underneath it all, you can appreciate completely why this band are touted as one of the UKs most exciting rock exports. Their music is muscular yet sensitive lyrically, blended around styles to provide a unique take which sets them apart from their peers.
I must be honest; this isn’t quite my bag. The combination of styles makes it hard for this old school rocker brought up on classic rock and thrash metal to really appreciate the approach here. I find the switch from punishing riffs to pop sensibilities in the band’s saccharine coated choruses particularly difficult. Take Euphoria. It’s almost something you’d anticipate on the Eurovision song contest in parts. It’s ghastly yet compelling and it’s always good to hear what the future will be like. I truly appreciate the effort and uncompromising attitude – these guys have huge confidence in their music and in their modern production which leaves little if anything to chance.
By the time I’d got to the final flourish on The Corner, I was itching to get into something a bit simpler. Emotive, passionate, with oodles of talent and a big serving of Nu Metal to boot, my entanglement with Don Broco was an interesting experience. It really was. I encourage you to dive in and see what you think.
LISTEN TO ‘NIGHTMARE TRIPPING’
DON BROCO ONLINE:
