OK, this isn’t a review, but it is a release on WHYM records, with a proper real shiny CD and everything. If one of our other reviewers wants to write about it then maybe they will! Anyway, you can find it on the Bikini Black Special bandcamp site and if you want a CD, order it from here and listen to it below!
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Obviously, don’t be a dick and review your own stuff, that would be quite tragic.
So – you’re going to call your debut EP “Thriller II”. Audacious. Fortunately, this first offering from Preston n’er-do-wells FIGHTING is self-aware enough to get away with it – both in terms of its strengths and faults.
Consisting of four tracks, T2 is a noisy and brash celebration of the art of being noisy and brash. The tone of it brings to mind Senseless Things, particularly on opener Keelie Needs Practice, where distorted bass and guitar bounce around a shouty and chiefly incomprehensible vocal. Sadly the lyrics aren’t available, though the repeated refrain makes it clear that Keelie needs practice. At something. James’ lets out a laugh right at the end making it clear that he doesn’t care if you understood a word of it though, and it’s a fun song regardless.
Next up is 2/52 and the chorus of “you, me, us, them” is clearly designed for shouting along by a bunch of overexcited sweaty drunks. Parts of the track are reminiscent of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s “Until You Find Out”, a similarity accentuated by the occasional high bass notes. That’s two mid-nineties guitar bands so far.
Third track Guest Appearance Bruce Springsteen is probably the weakest on the EP, where the vocals stand out a biit too much, and a bit too tunelessly to get away with it. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a band built around vocal delivery, but on this track the two vocals seem to be fighting each other leading to a bit of a shonky sound.
Finally, a breezeblock is jammed on the accelerator for the first half of Chorley Tom Cruise, and James’ vocal gets to stand alone, which seems to work well. Yeah, it’s more of the same, but when an EP is this much shouty fun then that’s what you want. The second half slows it down and brings in a call/response version of the chorus from the other half of this duo, and again you can see a design under the chaos – to provide songs that you pick up enough of to shout along in the appropriate sections after a few too many sambucas.
In total, Thriller II is far from perfect, but I suspect Fighting would be the first to admit it, and the overall vibe is not that of a quest for perfection. It’s a quest for a good time – and who doesn’t want to have a good time?
You can download Thriller II from the Fighting bandcamp site.
And let me guess… you want your monkey back?
Well you can’t have him. Not unless our demands are met. Don’t worry though, our demands are pretty simple. First, we want you to stop listening to that crap. Seriously. And because you’ve got it on so loud, everyone else on the bus can hear it to. Keep this up and you’ll have them all thinking that is what people listen to these days.
Good, that’s a start.
Next, have a scout through what we have here. There are all sorts of musical treats for your delectation. It’s a buffet of musical wonders. Some of it is on our very own label, and some of it is music we’ve found out there that we think you’ll like. Listen to some of it. Post your comments.
Finally – we want you to get out there and support these people. Unsigned musicians represent the beating heart and badly degraded liver of music, and you should at the very least help to pay for the inevitable dialysis. Buy their downloads, follow them on facebook, cough up for a CD, or bring them a cake to one of their shows.
You get what you give, and all that.