Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are times when the closest analogy, the biggest compliment you can give a group is to compare it to something from the past.
For the 286 and their E.P A Victory for the Battalion 286, to associate it with a solid piece of music from one of the finest bands from the 1960s should be seen as an honour and whilst the music fits neatly in the Power Pop arena, the E.P. goes beyond that and goes straight into the natural limelight afforded the heavily under rated band The Small Faces and the physical expanse that sits in the album Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake.
A victory it is as well for the nine piece band from London who wowed the crowds who saw them play at The Cavern as part of the International Pop Overthrow in 2013. Three great songs in which to feel the Power Pop infuse the body whilst the soul gets treated to something overpowering, something in which British pop evolved into the sweeping statement that was too follow. In the same way that the novel expanded from lines of sonnets, so too did the power pop of the 1960s. Endorsed by the Beatles and grabbed eagerly by the likes of The Who, The Small Faces and later E.L.O., the 21st Century sees itself more than ready to grasp at The 286 and revel in perfect timing which is conjured up by Spencer Hannabuss and his elite band.
A Victory for the Battalion 286 proves that all is possible, that expansive arrangements are more than just a dream for the inspired, the ambition that might easily get dismissed by those who mock musical compositions between a large number of people. All three songs are more than good enough to believe that they would have found a natural home on Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake, from the stirring Hello, through the heroic Battalion 286 and the sensational Suite: Beyond The World, every member contributes something so real, so naturally outstanding you would have to fly to the Serengeti and watch nature at its best to get the same type of experience.
The 286 are one of the finest bands to come out of London in over 30 years and it is with little wonder when they can produce music as substantial as this.
Ian D. Hall