London’s Intervurt are taking on the big names of bombastic alternative rock - and if the Translucent EP is anything to go by, they’re making a damn good start of it.
Intervurt’s sound places them well left of centre in the current British scene. There’s a distinctly rocky thickness to the guitars and bass, backed up with haunting and moody synthesizer tones. The atmospherics of the Translucent EP provide the ideal frame for Paul O’Keefe’s vocals, who has already been compared to Brandon Flowers of The Killers - and with some justification.
But while they share an aloof and dramatic flair in their voices, it’s far from a carbon copy. Flowers has his dazed Las Vegas twang, but O’Keefe is drawing on older antecedents from this side of the pond – Bowie, Ferry and (more recently) Molko.
The eponymous lead track of the EP, “Translucent” is an obvious and competent bid for a radio-friendly single without compromising Intervurt’s core aesthetic, and encapsulates the overall sound – a sense of danger and brooding malice combined with an introspective self-destruction.
“No Name” is a more crunchy and overdriven number, turning up the emotion along with the guitars to create a schizoid and angst-ridden vibe. “Suffering” opens up with some of the darkest synth tones I’ve heard in rock music recently, and unfolds into a brisk and driving song that is over almost before you know it.
Closing the Translucent EP is “City Of Moods”, which makes you think they’ve decided to tack on the standard slow ballad at the end of the record … right until four bars of huge epic chorus leaps out of nowhere like a mugger in a dark underpass, shaking you down for cash and jewellery before scarpering off into the orange glow of the city at night.
Intervurt are doing the indie pomp-rock thing with style and skill, and there’s a lot of promise on the Translucent EP. I’d like to hear a bit more sparkle and experiment from the band – perhaps some short solos from the guitar or keys – and I’d like to hear O’Keefe’s voice gain a little bit more authority and swagger.
But these are things that come with the passing of time; for now, Intervurt have got the important thing nailed – good solid song-writing that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: alt-rock, alternative, indie, rock
