REMEDY - EP review added 17th February 2009
Album Review: Strange Fast Now EP (2009)
For fans of: hard rock... and women who can belt it out
It's always nice to hear a new release from a new band, unless of course they sound like a hyena having bunions removed. Fortunately, Remedy's vibe has little in common with complex podiatric procedures on carnivores. The band play a retro-inspired classic rock with nods to the bigger bands of the 70's.
Lead singer Jenn Cherene has a soaring, powerful voice not dissimilar to Tina Egan, vocalist with defunct UK band If Only. There's a strong feminine edge to Jenn's surprisingly clear tone, but it's the strength that envelops your ears. It would come as no great shock if she broke the windows of smaller venues.
Graham Haswell, Lee Tuck and Mark Dodds, on lead, bass, and drums respectively, do a solid job backing the gargantuan gob up front, but none of them stand out. There's a strong sense of caution, not the danger that fans demand. Maybe with more challenging material they'd have a chance to shine.
There lies the bottom line with this release. The singing is exceptional, the musicianship acceptable, but the writing reeks of inexperience. It's as if they were trying so hard to recreate the 70's sensation they were too scared to venture out of the lifeboat and into the maelstrom. There are no massive choruses and few riffs or hooks you haven't heard before. Black Stone Cherry are a band who have taken that vintage sound, brought it up to date and made it their own. Remedy really, really need to do the same.
Strange Fast Now is an average release that excels in places and stumbles in others. This is a band with a solar flare of a future in front of them, but they need to find their own groove and make it deep, sexy and utterly irresistible right now. Watch this space. This "could" be the future...
Check out... That voice. Maybe wear ear protectors. She's LOUD I tell you!
Track List:
