"Delia
Smith, Alan Partridge and 'Sale of the Century'. A quick phone call to 'Dial-A-Cliché'
will tell you that East Anglia is famous a few things but - The Darkness apart
- a rock n' roll hotbed it is not. It's with this that Ipswich based quartet
The Cartels arrive on the scene with their glorious eponymous debut EP; stamping
their intent, and no doubt shattering a few regional preconceptions along the
way.
The EP bursts from the traps with the urgent sprint of opening track 'Run':
a machine gun flurry of drums and breathless stop-start guitar echoing frontman
Jamie Spall's themes of escaping an insular hometown. Musically, 'Run' is reminiscent
of NYC's noiseniks The Walkmen - an impatient and abrupt snarl, giving way to
a spiralling melody so weightless it will have Bloc Party quaking in their plimsolls
to hand over their dinner money.
The dynamic adventure of 'Pin Me' follows, bristling with a swagger and purpose
similar to that of The Music yet somehow just failing to convince. The tom-tom
hailstorm, pulsing bass and irresistible strafing guitar all show willing invention
but the sum of the parts doesn't make for a cohesive whole.
Third track, 'Brakes' fairs much better, a gnarled rock n' roll boogie recalling
the loose-limbed flick-knife menace of Primal Scream's 'Medication'. A threatening
buzz-saw guitar smears itself all over the track, bullying and intimidating
the listener with coiled feedback and juddering riffs like a jackbooted dandy.
'Mocking Bird' signals the last track on the EP and underlines that The Cartels
are not afraid to challenge and better their influences. Spall..s tale of a
crushed confidence beginning to flourish has all the deadpan archness of 'The
Killing Moon'-era Ian McCulloch, enriched by a resonating melody that echoes
The Stones' 'Gimme Shelter' and early U2. Yet rather than completely wallow
in the Bunnymen's nocturnal puddle, The Cartels' long overcoat is shed to reveal
a glistening chorus, emphasising further a subtle deftness in their songwriting.
A fearless assurance is shot through this debut EP and, with forthcoming tours
and songwriting sessions to follow, this should allow the band to harness their
potential and turn plenty of heads along the way. The Cartels are here to make
you an offer you can't refuse."
Mark Thompson
- CD Times
To
visit The Cartels official site click here