With rebellion in its heart and every senses trespassing riff that it unleashes, Vox Pop is the debut EP from UK outfit Sheafs and we suggest one of the most rousing and truly exciting encounters you will be likely to come across this year.
Formed in 2015, Sheffield hailing Sheafs has certainly teased and tempted attention with their songs and live presence which has seen them support the likes of The Amazons, The Coral, IDLES, and Greta Van Fleet but they have now made a full-blooded demand on scrutiny and recognition with Vox Pop which surely will prove impossible for the masses to ignore. Produced by Dead Nature/Spring King talent Tarek Musa and Jonathan Hucks, the EP pounces on ears from its first breath, its indie rock/pop punk nurtured sounds insatiable in their aggressive virulence and defiant condemnation loaded words “confronting the frustrations of a consumerist world that profits from people’s low self-esteem and self-doubt” a potent incitement.
Thinking Out Loud bursts from EP and speakers first, the track rhythmically pounding out an invitation to which guitars add rich impetus with their inviting grooves. Once a thick bassline joins the enticement, the song was in full control of attention, vocalist Lawrence Feenstra completing the fertile lure with a delivery as striking as the hooks which litter the already irresistible song. The guitars of Chris Goodacre and Charles Mellor spring a web of riffs and melodic wiring, clarity and fuzziness aligning within its irrepressible trap. The song is superb, addiction spilled with every note and syllable as the band’s already proving individual sound leapt upon ears and appetite.
As reinforced by next up World Is Falling Apart, the distinctiveness of Sheafs‘ sound is inescapable though there is something of an Asylums meets Baddies breath to it at times. The EP’s second track shows more restraint in its energy though every aspect is a boisterous incitement from its intoxicating groove to the rhythmic shuffle cast by the bass of Callum Wright and Charlie Eastap’s beats. A psych rock spice wraps each melody and seeps into every atmospheric intimation bred in the open imagination of the quintet as again inherent infectiousness fuels every intensity soaked moment uncaged before the band’s new single Total Vanity erupts. Straight away rhythms and riffs seize the moment, each pounding out audacious virulence incitement as Feenstra’s tones and words spring their own inimitable motivation upon ears and thoughts. The track is raucous splendour, a slice of fearless irresistibility sure to lead fresh hordes to the mutiny of Sheafs.
Shopping equally gripped from its first call, a post punk nagging at the heart of another unapologetically virulent tempting. As with all tracks there is a delicious tempestuousness which boils up in varying degrees but always adds riveting drama and energy to the contagion of in this case consumer exploitation.
With the just as magnificent Care Less bringing the EP to a close, the incendiary track an insatiable infestation of punk bred, dissent soaked rock ‘n’ roll, Vox Pop is an explosion of sound which certainly stopped us in our tracks. New music consistently grabs attention and excites but few things spark real anticipation of major things ahead; Sheafs and their full introduction is one of those rare moments so are you ready?
Vox Pop is out now via Blood Records.
https://www.sheafs.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/sheafsband https://twitter.com/sheafsband
Pete RingMaster 13/03/2020
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
The album’s title track follows, blues liquor fuelling its opening flames before a surf kissed breeze courts the controlled but pungent rhythms at its core. As the opener sprung a lure of descriptive intimation in its sound alone so its instrumental successor weaves an even more stirring sonic tale of drama and suggestion to play with before No More follows suit with its shadow wrapped stroll into ears and thoughts. Again every hook carries creative revelation for the imagination to conjure with; the track nurtured in the same suggestive espionage and danger which marked the best themes tunes of sixties and seventies TV shows such as UFO, Space: 1999, The Avengers or The Prisoner.
Has it been more of an organic movement of sound or more you deliberately wanting to try new things?
Both tracks making up the single are inspired by American music journalists and each a tribute with a touch of individualism and rebellion which could be said to equally spice the writers work. A-side is Robert Christgau, a song immediately winding attention enticing guitar wiring around ears. Rhythms gather with increasing intensity too though they never quite find a concussive touch as the track slips into its infectious post punk nurtured stroll. Tofer’s vocals join the canter, his resolute tones firm but with the same underlying off-kilter dynamic as carried by Breathiac’s guitar and Levojohn’s bass. With the equally purposeful beats of Kostas driving and adding commanding manipulation to song and listener alike within the melodic web cast by Breathiac, the track is pure captivation; essences of bands such as early Cure, Unsane, and KEN Mode coming to mind in varying degrees.
The rousing start is only accentuated by Fun and Games, a track which lit up the airwaves with its uncaging as one of last year’s best singles. A calm but keenly coaxing electronic pulse dances in ears first; it’s subdued but apparent skittishness soon surrounded by a contagion of air splattering beats and attention burrowing hooks, it all courted by the delicious dark bassoon-esque grumble of the bass. The infection loaded stroll is soon equipped with greater temptation as Dax brings her perpetual craft and captivation, alt pop and punk insisting on uniting with the track’s rock instincts to dig deeply and relentlessly under the skin.