The Vox Dolomites – Dirty Work: Japanese Tour EP

By RingMaster Review on September 12, 2012 • ( 0 )

UK punk rock band The Vox Dolomites is a band which without fail ignites the passions with each release and every show they unleash. Earlier this year their debut demo EP came out to thrill and raise the temperature within UK punk, and immediately sent the anticipation for more from the band into fever pitch. October sees the next instalment of their creativity when the band releases their Japanese Tour EP, Dirty Work to coincide with a five date tour of the country. The EP is a Japan only release through Modernedge Records, but with the four songs within its vibrant body, as well as those which made up that first demo, to be re-recorded and included on their forthcoming debut album in the autumn, it is definitely worth covering and exalting about.

From Stockport, the quartet of Antony Walsh (guitar, vocals),Will Farley (guitar, vocals), Chris O’Donnell (bass, vocals) and Simon Dunnington (drums) came together as The Vox Dolomites in 2011, its members already ‘veterans’ at making good punk/rock music previously in the bands One Man Stand, The Leif Ericsson and Spiteful WayModernedge Records,. Their music is a feisty mix of punk and ska though ‘not combined in the same song’ the band is keen to point out. Whichever gait their songs do come they are created and delivered with accomplished skill, but it is fair to say the ska/ska-core sounds the band create do have a feistiness and attitude to them which is borderline ska punk.

The EP opens with the excellent Battle Scars, a song which fires up the engines from its first electric riff. The track is a bruising and hungry brew of eager energies and sonic enterprise brought with combative guitars, mighty rhythms, and passionate anthemic vocal harmonies. Fully infectious yet bristling with confrontational sounds to wake up and ignite the ear and passions, the track is a Rancid/ Hagfish/Dog Eat Dog like mix and arguably a slab of American punk though distinctly brought with a British flare. It is a mighty heart racing start which has one mentally if not physically, punching the air and stomping around in union with the track.

The following Frank And Joan shows the other side of the band, its warm ska caresses and addictive sonic strokes soon deeply sunk within the heart. As the guitars tease and fire up the senses with their choppy and heated play alongside the heavy rhythms and the absorbing bass tones of O’Donnell, it is impossible not to be swaying along with the swagger of the song and captivated by the unfurling grisly tale. The tonic for the soul sound of the keys light up every shadow within the song to further captivate and thrill, and though merely two and a half minutes company the song is a glorious mischievous companion.

The Human Condition steps up next, again with a ska driven breath within its eager to incite the passions riot. Smacking of the likes of [Spunge], Random Hand, and Mad Caddies, without distilling the distinct Vox Dolomites presence, the track is a storming rub to trigger the fires of sheer contentment.

The release closes with the excellent No Split Ends, a song which like an old not seen for years buddy comes at the ear with a familiar but fresh and explosive keenness. The most catchy of all the songs with its vocal chorus and magnetic chops of guitar and jabs of beats, the track is and ignites pure insatiable addiction. Imagine Face To Face meeting The Clash in a frenzy of ska spliced punk and you have the mighty triumph that is No Split Ends.

The EP is easily the best advert and teaser for the forthcoming album possible, a release which if it does not appear in the near future will have impatient riots on its hands. The Vox Dolomites are easily one of the most exciting bands in not only UK punk but its music as a whole, and with a preview track from the EP available to tease the heart, now is the time to make your introduction to a great band.

http://www.thevoxdolomites.com/

RingMaster 12/09/2012

The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.