Thee Vicars – Every Day/Don’t Wanna Be Free

By RingMaster Review on February 8, 2012 • ( 0 )

Better late than never right? Such is the case with the excellent single from UK garage rock band Thee Vicars. Released the tail end of last year the single recently swaggered into the aural gaze of the RM Review and what a joy it is. Playful, feisty and incessant, ‘Every Day’/’Don’t Wanna Be Free’ is a glorious two track gift for the heart.

Imagine you are sitting there undecided on what to listen to. On your left shoulder is the angelic and safe indie pop of say a Gotye or Mumford & Sons and on the right the devilish and mischievous Thee Vicars encouraging and tempting. There is no contest of course and once their songs unveil their wondrous sounds to captivate and inflame, they ensure there will never be any other destination than Thee Vicars considered again.

The trio from Bury St Edmunds of Mike Whittaker (bass/vocals), Chris Langeland (guitar/vocals), and Alex De Renzi (drums), have for three years used their combined disdain /hatred of modern music to fuel a vibrant mix of R&B and a raw Sixties sound veined with essences of trashy and garage punk, or if you like essential rock ‘n’ roll. Their music is the insistent rascally fusion of the likes of 13th Floor Elevators, The Seeds, The Stones and Chuck Berry with essences of Thee Mighty Caesars, The Hives and the early sound of The Horrors. The band take these and seep them into their own distinctive irrepressible sound and ideas to simply create music that shakes you out of your stride and complacency, as their previous duo of singles and two albums has already proved.

The new single released on Dirty Water Records, as their previous releases, is a refreshing and invigorating stiffener to any day, livening up staid emotions or depleted will. It bristles and oozes energy, quality and most of all fun to enhance and spoil the senses. The band is renowned for its work ethic with masses of shows and tours honing their punchy and melodic sound into the hard hitting and scalding harmonious music evident on the single.

‘Every Day’ starts by teasing with short bursts of the soon to be constant temptation of an infectious riff and hook. These act as a continual beckoning finger, enticing and coaxing one into the song’s expressive and caustic explosions of sound. The bass of Whittaker throbs with a knowledge and confidence that you cannot refuse its lure aided by the uncomplicated rhythms of De Renzi, her beats completely hypnotic. Langeland’s guitar at times sizzles with contempt and enthused malice but always generating only welcoming compliance from the ear. A brilliant track that alone no matter the quality of its partner would make the single a must buy.

Of course ‘Don’t Wanna Be Free’ is more than able to back it up. With an early Kinks like vibe the song sways and dances with eagerness and fine melodic grace. It has a slight Mod feel to it in the swagger the song carries into its sixties toned melodies and urgency. There is at times a fuzzy chaotic feel to the drive of the song which is impressive and gives off an unbridled energy that can only enthuse.

By the end one feels like the vocals on the single, excited, slightly strained and thoroughly contented. The single is near perfect and encapsulates what rock ‘n’ roll and punk is all about. Is it too late to make it my single of 2011?

RingMaster 08/02/2012