Rocker (feedbot)
Platinum Member
Think back to last year, when Charli XCX released ‘BRAT’ and unleashed the cultural event known as ‘Brat Summer’. For those of you who missed it, the album’s plain green cover and attitude became a meme, then an adjective – This was BRAT, that was BRAT, it was a byword for cool. Metal has always been a little slow to catch up so with their debut EP, Eville are asking the question; can Metal get down with the kids, can it be BRAT?
Eville have spent the last few years establishing themselves. They’ve followed an increasingly common pathway, releasing a series of standalone singles to establish an identity and a sound. This even extends to the artwork, featuring portraits of the band; musicians in nu-metal clothes, singer in a bikini. It’s great branding. Their music is a modern, cut-&-paste-in-a-studio blend of guitars and synths driven by a huge drum & bass undercurrent, not really metal. It’s propulsive and big but it doesn’t feel like a band, more a project like Wargasm or Scene Queen. It’s not a bad sound either, but there’s a problem – Songs can have any structure, any structure at all, but they need something. A hook, a voice, a direction, some kind of depth. If you want breakdowns, you need a structure to break; if you’re using repetition, the music needs flavour; if the music is sparse, then the vocals hook better zing. A throwaway pop song is fine, so long it has not been discarded it while it’s still playing. This is something they’ve always struggled with. Listen back to their early singles and songs like ‘Leech’ stand out because they have it – others do not. Clearly, they’re still struggling, the four songs on this EP flicker with inspiration but never catch fire, it’s a frustrating listen.
The clearest, most inspired song is the pun-based ‘BRAT MBL’ where the heavily processed vocals are literally doing their best Charli XCX impersonation. It’s a great idea, but clever isn’t always the same as good. Sure, the vocals go up and down, there’s a melody and it’s a fun idea but the processing deadens the singer’s personality. A truly arresting vocalist shouldn’t aim for the high notes and make a sound like fart through a mouth organ. The hook isn’t exactly killer either. ‘No Pictures Please’ is much more satisfying, it’s thoughtful and engaged but it doesn’t really go anywhere, fizzling out before the runtime ends. It’s a similar problem with ‘Bikini Top’ which pairs the drum beat with a repetitive vocal. The song quickly dead-ends and tries to cover its shortcomings with a bit of trendy record scratching, which really doesn’t help. ‘Accidents Happen’ falls into a similar trap, petering out as its withered idea completely dries up.
Listening the lively drums, grooves and occasional flashes of inspiration it feels like Eville could be something. They have the style but not the songs, yet.
Eville’s new EP isn’t BRAT, it’s not very good either.
IAN KENWORTHY
Eville have spent the last few years establishing themselves. They’ve followed an increasingly common pathway, releasing a series of standalone singles to establish an identity and a sound. This even extends to the artwork, featuring portraits of the band; musicians in nu-metal clothes, singer in a bikini. It’s great branding. Their music is a modern, cut-&-paste-in-a-studio blend of guitars and synths driven by a huge drum & bass undercurrent, not really metal. It’s propulsive and big but it doesn’t feel like a band, more a project like Wargasm or Scene Queen. It’s not a bad sound either, but there’s a problem – Songs can have any structure, any structure at all, but they need something. A hook, a voice, a direction, some kind of depth. If you want breakdowns, you need a structure to break; if you’re using repetition, the music needs flavour; if the music is sparse, then the vocals hook better zing. A throwaway pop song is fine, so long it has not been discarded it while it’s still playing. This is something they’ve always struggled with. Listen back to their early singles and songs like ‘Leech’ stand out because they have it – others do not. Clearly, they’re still struggling, the four songs on this EP flicker with inspiration but never catch fire, it’s a frustrating listen.
The clearest, most inspired song is the pun-based ‘BRAT MBL’ where the heavily processed vocals are literally doing their best Charli XCX impersonation. It’s a great idea, but clever isn’t always the same as good. Sure, the vocals go up and down, there’s a melody and it’s a fun idea but the processing deadens the singer’s personality. A truly arresting vocalist shouldn’t aim for the high notes and make a sound like fart through a mouth organ. The hook isn’t exactly killer either. ‘No Pictures Please’ is much more satisfying, it’s thoughtful and engaged but it doesn’t really go anywhere, fizzling out before the runtime ends. It’s a similar problem with ‘Bikini Top’ which pairs the drum beat with a repetitive vocal. The song quickly dead-ends and tries to cover its shortcomings with a bit of trendy record scratching, which really doesn’t help. ‘Accidents Happen’ falls into a similar trap, petering out as its withered idea completely dries up.
Listening the lively drums, grooves and occasional flashes of inspiration it feels like Eville could be something. They have the style but not the songs, yet.
Eville’s new EP isn’t BRAT, it’s not very good either.
IAN KENWORTHY