Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To kick down the door with insubordination, to shoulder the courage of rebellion and go out with all thoughts of making the world a place in which all can live in the comfort of their own skin and to take down the brutality of the charmless. To fight back against the insincere, that it is beauty that shines in the heart of all when they learn openly the act of defiance, the perfection of being able to openly Defy the orders of the inept and the rhetoric of the unwelcome.
To Defy takes more than courage, it takes the pleasure of the Otherwise to lead the way, and for the Las Vegas band who first strode into town with the sheriff badge on one lapel and the hard rock anarchy symbol on the other, both pinned with care, detail and the urge to pick up a guitar and cause mayhem and sweat inducing chords. Defy is to the epitome of blowing away other’s expectations and the premise that somehow still persists, that hard rock cannot cradle the innocent and keep the mind in order of those who crave to rage against the machine.
Otherwise have come a long way since their debut single Soldiers was released, the diet of blistering production, of devouring the world around them as it somehow becomes its own worst parody, has served them well, and it is in their own defiance, the urge to show the fans and the possible supporters to come that their music is one that has grown is worthy of being part of a genre that offers only truth in its execution.
It only takes a Bad Trip to get you started in the wrong lane but for Otherwise it is the point of entry to which knows how to ignite the act of defiance, and as songs such as Money, Lifted, Ain’t Done Yet, Fame And Miss Fortune and the album’s finale of Good Fight pulsate and titillate the listener’s ears. It is no wonder that every single they have produced has been eaten up by the public, the ritual dance of expression and enjoyment being a filling and substantial meal in which to dine out upon.
To Defy is a sign of maturity, to understand that you don’t have to comply with the orders of those who scream in your face and expect you to listen to their lies or their forced double tongue talk; to act in the spirit of defiance is the honour of the Otherwise, the ones thought of also-rans, the ones who stand up for the multitude and urge them to challenge the neglect of authority at every turn.
Otherwise release Defy on November 8th via Mascot Records.
Ian D. Hall