Scatter The Crow is the much-anticipated début album from Brit-rock hopefuls Slaves To Gravity. Having risen from the ashes of The GaGas, the band are keen to take a second shot at success, and the solid post-grunge craftsmanship of Scatter The Crow might be just the ticket.
Opening track “Heaven Is A Lie” is a belter of a track, and a reliable signpost for what’s to come as Scatter The Crow progresses. Rich warm distorted guitar chords and deceptively lethargic rhythms underpin a moody anthem that I’m surprised to find wasn’t used as a single – Slaves To Gravity have learned the wisdom of keeping something back, it appears.
The grunge flavour of Scatter The Crow continues with “She Says” and previous single “Big Red”, the latter having a crisp chunkiness about the chords that nods to contemporary metal but a chorus that is pure hook. Tommy Gleeson’s voice fits the blueprint perfectly, with a range and tone that brings to mind a British Chris Cornell, from brooding to anthemic and back again.
Five tracks have passed before Slaves To Gravity break the formula. It’s symptomatic of modern rock albums that you expect to hit filler soon after a strong opener, but Scatter The Crow is notable for the absence of obvious padding and unnecessary extras – which, for a thirteen song album, is bloody good going.
The flipside is that Scatter The Crow only has a few real stand-out tracks, most of which have already done service (very effectively) as singles – though the size-zero indictment of “Doll Size” has a certain scathing character, for example.
“Gutterfly” is also notable (for its slow menacing chug as well as a subtle solo that matches Gleeson’s vocal work brilliantly), and the closing track “Rosa & The Ocean Blue” pushes the ballad button without engaging the cheese engines, as jangling Led Zep acoustic guitar and sitar drones support lyrics that don’t stick between your teeth.
Otherwise, it’s as if Slaves To Gravity were a production line for solid no-fuss grunge-rock. And frankly that’s no bad thing; you can forgive a lack of unique anthems when the album is as consistent as Scatter The Crow. The quality is all there, it’s just distributed more evenly than we’re accustomed to.
My only criticism would be that Scatter The Crow is a little too straight-down-the-line … that said, I think Slaves To Gravity aren’t trying to break the mould so much as grow gradually beyond the edges of it. The music never quite lets rip and tears the room apart the way it sometimes threatens to, but that’s thanks to a focus on songwriting over sheer power and fretboard worship – Scatter The Crow is an exercise in restraint, and Slaves To Gravity may well turn out to be poets in biker’s clothing.
But whichever way you slice it, Scatter The Crow is one of the most convincing straight-up rock débuts to come out of Britain in a good few years. Slaves To Gravity may not be superstar grade just yet, but the potential certainly isn’t lacking.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: alternative, grunge, rock, Scatter The Crow, Slaves To Gravity
