EP REVIEW PROJECT ABNER 1. AS KIDS DO
|
Project Abner a UK
band formed in 2001 and it’s assumed that this is their debut release. There’s
some confusion over what this release is called, it’s been reported elsewhere as the "All
My Love" EP and it does feature a song of that name, however nothing is stated
in the press release and on the cover is printed "Follow The Pig", so
lets stick with that.
How do they sound? Think Funeral For A Friend speeding down a dark lane, lights on full-beam catching Lost Prophets in the middle of the road like a startled rabbit and Thursday racing towards them from the opposite direction retaining a full understanding in the ensuing car crash. If that means nothing then try a classic mix of emo and hardcore, that balanced blend of hard hitting rock and well timed emotional melody. And there’s lots of melody, with gangly guitars that build rhythmically in a Cave-In sort of way but swiftly plunging into solid driving riffs that inject immense power. The songs rarely remain overtly heavy for long and even at breakdown point where some very course, guttural vocals are used and powerful crushing guitars drop from nowhere, it’s soon reverts back to soothing melody. Sometimes the songs feel a little too long and the vocals can seem slightly whiny, monotone and tuneless, but conversely they often chop and change the structure of songs and utilise heavy and light which does keep you engrossed. Occasionally they even break into completely unrelated styles, like the King Prawn style ska on ‘Suited And Useless’ and they even feature xylophones on ‘All My Love’. Now that’s metal! This is an entertaining and very promising band and even with the now familiar sound combination of emo and hardcore manage to bring something of their own to the front. With a nicely rounded and well-written EP, Project Abner are a band that shows a lot of promise and definitely one to watch out for. Rigsby (9th April, 2003) |
