Source: Album Artwork
Bursting through the gates horn first are FangClub, an Irish trio with groove and bite bubbling over the edges of their rock and roll filled cauldron. After two successful EP’s and getting themselves chucked on tours with the likes of Twin Atlantic – the Dublin trio have arrived with their first full-length release to date, a self-titled barrage of hip swinging rock.
Anchored by a sludgy, thumping production, the self-titled record places dark edges at several points throughout the album. What would be upbeat, floor fillers such as ‘Lightning’ and ‘Best Fake Friends’ are given a lick of industrial paint, putting the kind of organic touch on the record which has worked wonders for the inception of bands such as Milk Teeth.
Despite being merely a trio – Fangclub come across with phenomenal power throughout the album, and the bass lines of Kevin Keane bind together a majority of the record, but ‘Bad Words’ in particular is most receptive of this, with its way of pumping out of your speakers and straight into your brain.
Best described as a mesh between Queens Of The Stone Age, Royal Blood and Weezer, Fangclub have a blend of styles that allows them to explore different avenues. The hard rock one-two of ‘Bullet Head’ and ‘Role Models’ seemingly takes Fangclub in one direction before this is twisted at later points in the record for a slower paced, pinpoint style on the likes of ‘Loner’. But Fangclub are well equipped to explore both avenues, and it’s rare that anything gets lost in the shuffle.
Fangclub are a trio that are seemingly coming through at just the right time, they’re real musicians with a dark tone and bending melody. In a world where you wouldn’t have to stretch too far to find a rock band that want to sound as squeaky clean as possible – Fangclub are a band that take everything you like about organic rock music and paint a picture with it for you. At the very least this debut album should add further strength to the bands backbone and continue to push them up the steep hill of rock music.
