Album Review: The Mysterines - "Reeling"

 

The rise of the Mysterines in recent months has been a rapid one with the group coming up through the ranks over the last couple of years to the point where they're now selling out decent sized venues on tour and being touted by many as the next big thing in British alternative rock.

Weirdly the first band that the Mysterines reminded me of upon listening to opening track Life's A Bitch (But I Love It So Much) is mid-'90s post-grunge rockers Solar Race with the frenetic clanging guitars and Lia Metcalfe's vocals owing a definite nod to the late Eilidh Bradley's defiant scowl. However, although Reeling is definitely grunge influenced, it's got a refreshing rawness to it which sees it much more in line with the feral scuzziness of Mudhoney or early Nirvana than the over-polished hollow chest-beating of the Stone Temple Pilots or Pearl Jam. The pummelling Hung Up and the sludgy riff of The Bad Thing have a real heart-on-sleeve fury to them which leaves you in no doubt that this band definitely mean it (man).

There's definitely a bit of a latter day goth influence in here as well - PJ Harvey is a bit of an obvious comparison but if you listen to the likes of Dangerous, it's difficult to deny. However, the Mysterines are much more than a group of grunge copyists - On The Run dips a toe into the country rock noir pool frequented by the likes of Lucero, the rickety Old Friends Die Hard leans towards gothabilly and Under Your Skin and Confession Song both have the same sort of swampy voodoo vibe that Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind once did while the skeletal acoustic lament Still Call You Home is another standout.

It's always nice to come across a band getting plenty of good press where the hype is very much justified and make no mistake about it, the Mysterines are definitely such a band. Reeling takes a disparate set of influences away from the easy option of just trying to cop on what's popular these days and throws them together to create a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts. This is definitely well worth your investigation.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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