In 2004, '80s punk survivors The Alarm recorded a single called '45 RPM'. As an experiment, they decided to disassociate themselves from the track, instead getting a young Welsh band to lip-sync the song under the name The Poppy Fields. It was a top 30 hit. Would it have been a top 30 hit had it been promoted as being by an ageing band who history hasn't always judged that well? Almost certainly not. With news that the seminal C86 album is to be reissued on CD soon, it's timely that the The Wolfhounds, a band who history has been much kinder to, are releasing this new single. There can't be many survivors from that tape still doing the rounds. Admittedly they took an extended break and have a slightly changed line-up, but the question begs to be asked: would 'Divide & Fall' be received the same way as it is now by the press, if it was by a brand new band as their debut single?
Given that publications such as NME are constantly looking for the next big guitar band, the answer would most likely be a definitive yes. 'Divide & Fall' isn't a throwback to their early days. They may play the same instruments in roughly the same genre, but this sounds modern, not dated or regurgitated. It's sharp, energetic and almost boundless in its energy; it's everything you'd look for in an exciting new band. Zane Lowe would be all over it, they'd be trampling through the blog world, but none of that will happen, because the industry doesn't allow. This is a storming single, and one that's backed by another fine tune in 'The Ten Commandments of Public Life ', a psych-infused, atmospheric number that also sounds fresh. There's always the chance that the reissue of the oft mentioned (mainly by people who've never heard it) C86 album will put them back in the spotlight briefly, but other than that, here are two very good songs that will most likely go begging as far as anyone under 30-odd years of age will be concerned, and that's a shame and an injustice.
The Wolfhounds' website
Stream or buy the single
For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter
contact@thesoundofconfusion.com
No comments:
Post a Comment