This November sees UK singer songwriter Matt Finucane release another moment of wholly individual temptation in the shape of The Seizure EP. Offering four tracks which spark on the senses as they provoke thought and emotions, the Brighton-based troubadour of disharmony again proves himself one of the most unique and honest artists around.
The Seizure EP follows his album Vanishing Island which earned deserved acclaim earlier this year. It was a collection of tracks even in their array of individual sound and discord which throughout embraced a pop rock bred contagion. The new encounter is of the same intent and in many ways is an even more rounded set of songs but each of the foursome stands boldly unique to each other and all ignited the imagination as they got under the skin in emotional and physical dissonance.
Evil Realm is first up, announcing itself with an immediate clang of guitar, a persistent clash of enticement honed into suggestive strumming as dark but just as inviting rhythms stroll. Finucane’s inimitable tones quickly join the infectious pop ‘n’ roll swung, punk infested clamour, his Mark E. Smith-esque delivery as potent as the words and incitement escaping his thoughts and throat. The track is superb, its inherent contagion of hooks amidst a post punk nurtured droning swiftly irresistible and the almost kaleidoscopic nature of its sound compelling with the almost freakish moments of relative calm carrying a Bill Nelson like suggestiveness simply icing on the skilfully instinctive pandemonium.
The following Honest Song is just as magnetic, it too coming in on an ear enticing lure of guitar. The bass of Stephen Parker again proves a dark invitation to get hooked up on; it’s tempting as brooding as it is catchy against the rhythmic swing of drummer Barney Guy. Again there is a post punk breath to the contagion loaded track, the perfect embrace and provocation to the equally invasive and insightful words of Finucane and side by side with its predecessor is our favourite time with the artist yet.
The disquiet croon of Raw Material is next up, the song a call of melodic enticement and vocal implication swaying in the swarthy embrace of cosmopolitan hues yet unsurprisingly there is a clamorous lining to it all and a volatility which leads to a doorway of psyche rock entanglement. It is typical Matt Finucane in its canvas and imagination but unique in his landscape of fascination and enterprise.
The Seizure concludes with the shadow wrapped acoustic balladry of Slaughter Ink. Featuring the 12-string guitar of Mik Hanscomb, the song is as haunting as it is bewitching, the tones of Finucane matching the enthralling draw of the often sepia hued sounds with his thought entangling lyrics.
In our experience every outing with Matt Finucane has proven an absorbing and rousing adventure in some rich level of degree but The Seizure might just be his finest proposition yet; in fact no question, it is.
The Seizure EP is released November 8th through Light Crude Records.
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Pete RingMaster 09/10/2019
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
Both tracks revel in the multi-flavoured breeding of the band’s sound, the fresh and familiar once more making a highly appealing proposition and riven by a strong vein of imagination as proven again by Long Way Home. The band’s new single, it is a more even paced encounter lit by keys and a melodic sway in music and voice, emotive flames lighting its invigorated balladry.
The following Hardcore Jesus makes a more considered approach, melodic wiring enticing attention as around them a brewing tempest of sound grows. In quick time, the track breaks into a rapacious stroll, the swinging beats of drummer Lars Kirkerud steering its feisty gait as Håvard Jacobsen’s bassline broods. Again it is a feral invitation impossible to ignore and soon resist with its contagion loaded chorus, a hardcore meets hard rock landscape doing nothing to diminish its insistently catchy punk instincts.
Control kicks things off, its calm melodic invitation soon engulfed in a fiery eruption. As swiftly though it relaxes into a reserved but catchy stroll as Conneely’s tones proceed to share the song’s heart. All the while that volatile edge still simmers, boiling up with rhythms a tenacious enticement throughout as guitar sparked flames ignite the drama of the encounter. It is an absorbing mix of sound and imagination, fresh and familiar flavours woven into one powerful body.
Behind The Glow sets things off, a lure of guitar central to its potent invitation before the song sets off on its thrash nurtured canter. The guitars of Phil Elste and Timo Kammerer only continue to entice as the latter’s gruff tones enter the creative affray. It is an attack though with melodic dexterity strapped to its rhythmic punch, riffs and grooves casting a subtle yet bold web to the aggressive but controlled nature of drummer Lukas Mayr’s strikes and the heavy dark bassline of Max Wopinsk. There is an imagination and craft to band and song though which ultimately holds attention keenest and caps the satisfaction naturally bred by the EP’s great start.
To try and place the sound of Dry Cleaning, it sits somewhere between Pylon and the Au Pairs with an originality which embraces some familiar hues but twists them to its own inventive devices. Shaw’s spoken word styled delivery sparks thoughts of Lesley Woods of the latter of the previously mentioned bands and at times The Anaemic Boyfriends, her words almost snatches of life and opinion woven together to create and echo kitchen sink situations as well as broader issues. EP opener, Goodnight quickly reveals it is a potent and striking incitement just as magnetically matched by the sounds which stride alongside. The first song concussively strikes like a sonic cobra before breaking into a virulent stride the Gang Of Four would be proud of. Vocals and rhythms collude in their temptation, the insistence of the latter led by the throbbing bass irresistible as guitars add their choppy lures and beats swing with matching rapacity. A melodic hook right out of the Buzzcocks songbook is extra manna to devour as it entwines the intimacy of word and reflection.
Nothing Dramatic opens up with its title track and immediately had ears pricked with its initial spindly riff, a hook even more enticing as a mass of noise bred temptation brews up around it. Straight away an infectious coaxing is at play, becoming even more mischievous as the band’s alternative rock bred sound erupts with a devilish swing and melodic tempting. The vocals of bassist Jake Tilley are just as magnetic as the enterprise around them, his and drummer Stevo Somerset’s manipulative rhythms caging the inventively magnetic exploits of guitarists Josh Pearl and Alex Young. Blending muscular and forceful textures with more poised and seductive hues, the song sets a high bar for the release and a moment which remained our favourite though closely nudged throughout the EP.