Mount Fabric

Threads 

Hairy Wolf Records

Out Now

Rating: 3/5

Someone's listened to their Muse b-sides. So there's a new Mount Fabric EP, Threads, and this time they've apparently decided to ditch all of their excess influences, for the simple fact is this whole affair sounds exactly like either Muse or Radiohead.

Take track one, 'The Lightning Fork'; the pre-chorus is 'Sober' from Muse's Showbiz, and the chorus is 'Lucky' from Radiohead's Ok Computer. Now personally I'm going to forgive that, as I rather enjoy MF, but I can see a lot of people (even those not initially turned off by the Muse/Radiohead comparison) that will switch off after realising that.

Anyway, the former being true, 'Squelettes' is a guilty-pleasure of an upbeat number, 'ROC' the token ballad/atmospheric piece, and 'Cortisol' the more 'experimental' electronic track; think '13 Step'. Perhaps it sounds like I'm being a little unfair here, but let the record show that nowhere did I say these tracks were bad – they're actually all very good (with the exception of closer 'Fault', which is rather too close to '90s adult-oriented pop-rock for my taste) – but they aren't original, and it's not unfair of me to observe that it's going to be a deal-breaker for some. 

 Mount Fabric

Secretly an Astronaut EP

Hairy Wolf Records

Release Date: 24th March

Rating: 4/5

As this EP, the first thing I've heard by Hairy Wolves signing Mount Fabric, kicked off, I couldn't help but think of John Murphy's 'In the House/In a Heartbeat' from the film 28 Days Later.... that's not a bad thing at all, just kind of random. Anyway, the track  ('Coping With Belief') quickly resolves into something pretty solidly on the oddball side of post-rock-pop, with falsetto vocals set against a gentle paced rhythm section. By the time the vocals distort and the track climaxes, I've already decided that I like this band. 

Track two, 'Big Plans', ups the tempo somewhat; it reminds especially of Hoggboy, at least when they weren't being post- britpop crap and being post-grunge awesome instead. Other touchstones might be pre-Showbiz Muse or (if I'm to further plumb the name-dropping of cult unsigned bands) Fin Raziel; in fact, now I think about it, they even sound a little like a more poppy Connectingflight. Shit me, I'm on obscure reference overdrive. Quickly, stop me before I reach critical critic density and meltdown.... dammit, this is why I shouldn't have three cups of tea and then be let loose on my keyboard. What was I saying? Oh yeah, that it's good. Really good, actually, and there's something in the mix that I haven't quite nailed yet. Down on the Upside Soundgarden? Fuck. Blur? Maybe.

Right, so the final track is Blur-esque, my scatty day nonwithstanding; it's got that same playful approach to melody and appropriation of the post-Pavement US indie scene, even if the vocals have now gone fully from Jonsi to Stuart Warwick. Actually, you know, I will stand by that; I was going to make a lazy comparison to Yorke/Bellamy, but yeah, STUART WARWICK is the voice I was thinking of. 

All in all, it's a highly listenable, pleasantly left-of-centre EP that shows a band trying their best not to get pigeonholed, and succeeding to a great degree. Though vocally impressive, I was never totally wowed by the instrumentals, though it should be said that there's a strong approach to melody and pacing, and the production values throughout are simply exceptional. 
 

JAMES! JAMES! THAT is the band I was thinking of. Fuck, sorry, this review has been all over the place, even by my standards. Yeah, kind of like a less-britpop-more-post-rock version of James with a better singer and a little less inclined towards facile 'singles' style music. Just look it up for yourself, ok?

I think this is genuinely the longest review I've ever done for a three track EP. That HAS to be a compliment. "Lap it up, fuzzball", as Han Solo would say.