Wednesday 19 June 2013

Prayer Chain - Demo EP

EP review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk


This is far from the first, and almost certainly not the last time that we've mentioned a new wave of bands inspired by grunge/college-rock and the other forms of alternative rock music that were prominent in the early 1990s. Like we've said, there's a big revival bubbling under, just waiting for that one band or one song to open the door. It could be what sees the return of guitar music to the charts even. This band from south Florida don't so much sound a bit like some past bands, this EP of demos by Prayer Chain actually fills me with a huge sense of nostalgia. It's as if the sights, sounds, smells, feelings; the whole of my life from twenty years ago had been captured in a bottle and is now uncorked. I'm just waiting for Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq to tell me the name of the song at the end of each track.

It's probably first track, 'Eager', that stirs these feelings the most as it's maybe the best produced here (and by that we don't mean heavily produced, simply the least demo-like). Much rawer and maybe in need of some more mixing before it's finalised is the chugging 'Moment'. Despite the cruder recording there's a good song in there. 'Let Me In' is a real flashback, and here it's the fact that it's a demo that gives it life, this is one track they could leave just as it is and probably give similar flashbacks to other fans of these kind of sounds who remember them the first time around, and you could probably say the same for the excellent, guitar-heavy 'Hospital' which adds further credence to the theory (well, fact) that immaculate production isn't always desirable. Of course it would be the done thing to end on something a little more reflective, and Prayer Chain do with 'Clear', but that doesn't stop a suitable amount of feedback from peppering the song. Demos maybe, but really not much more work needs to be done.



Prayer Chain's website

Stream or buy the album





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