Source: Album Artwork
Southampton based punks Miss Vincent have returned with latest EP Reasons Not To Sleep and state a major claim that it is not just American punk bands like Alkaline Trio, AFI, et-al who can deal in good old serious dark punk rock sounds. By dark punk we are not talking about those passing fads like ‘New Grave’ which seems to be all the rage at the moment. This punk rock still has meaning it doesn’t have to be horror movies and make up.
EP opener ‘DNR’ and ‘Gradients of Grey’ are two very good ways to introduce yourself and both quickly show that these boys seriously know how to write a melody. ‘Gradients Of Grey’ especially hooks you straight in- working with the quiet, loud formula that has helped create so much amazing music over the years. ‘Disparate, Desperate’ while not catching the listener as quickly, it is a slow burner that builds and opens that shows musicianship beyond their years.
‘Shogun Queen’ opens like a punch to the face and by this point Miss Vincent have got us hooked. The band have something special which can only mean that they will be stepping up to bigger and better things off the back of this release. It does have that Alkaline Trio/AFI feel but to just bundle them in as to copying those acts would be a disservice to the band. there is something very british about the band that echoes that golden era off the early 21st Century when UK post hardcore flexed its muscle for the first time to the rest of the world.
‘You Can’t Spell Blame Without Me’ closes the EP on a high, showing all the bands strengths over four and a half minutes. Catchy melodies, superb structure, perfect use of backing/gang vocals. Excellent work all round here and if you haven’t checked these guys out before, then we highly recommend you go out right now and do just that. Impressive.
