Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is always a small part of you that worries that the second E.P. or album you hear performed by a band might see the glimmer of undisguised joy you felt first time round, die a little, become somehow tarnished and smeared with the dirty pain of blotted memories. It is a natural thought. Even when a band has been going many years that nagging doubt remains and in even in masters of the music experience such as Pink Floyd there is an argument for saying A Momentary Lapse of Reason falls into that category. For Liverpool band The Vibes, a couple of E.P.s down the line and they still sound bloody marvellous. Dust Trail proves that you perhaps shouldn’t give much thinking room for second E.P. nerves!
Living up to a past glory can be difficult, there is pressure but when you have faith in your ability, a knack of sounding like you are a hybrid crossover between several styles and two very good songwriters in Mike Jones and the outstanding Darren McGrath, then it’s no wonder that Dust Trail sounds so excitingly crazy, so overpowering and oozing with notes that sound as they are being played by an octopus with tentacles thrashing wildly and producing something that stands between John Lydon and Jim Morrison, between the anger and possessive of Punk and the unobtainable enlightenment of Doors driven Blues.
There is so much to enjoy on the E.P., so much in which to slap your pal on the shoulder and agree to have been entertained and give thought for slight reflection. The reflection comes in with just penetrating the ideas comes to the mind of the band, the extremes between genres and yet sounding elegantly rough, as bumpy and as thrilling as a roller coaster ride. Darren McGrath’s and Mike Jones vocals complement the songs and the well driven bass of Duncan Morrison and Steven McCarroll’s drums give the stunning anger a polished feel of uncontained jubilation.
From Rambling Man to Bad News, from the glory of Evil Mind to Red Moto, each of the seven songs on offer give a huge crushing nod to the world in which this generation is now facing. The uncertainty of a section of society to which, unless they go and grab life and live it and not give in to the pressure facing them due to global politics, could hammer them down beyond repair. The Vibes know that and face it head on with controlled anger and great songs.
Dust Trail is due to be released in May 2014.
Ian D. Hall