The Dublin trio will blow you away with their new release, you have been warned.
Irish rock band Fangclub are releasing their highly personal new EP this Friday 29 June via Vertigo Records. The EP is a fiery collection of Fangclub’s unique brand of alternative rock.
Speaking honestly about the music and its lyrical content, enigmatic frontman Steven King said this of the EP. “True Love is a collage of an intense year that almost ended the band. Last year I became infatuated with the idea of True Love. But not just love of a person. Love of drink, drugs, people, actions & habits. Anything can be your “One True Love” if you let it. Love can be painful. True Love can cut deep like a Knife. Knife was my skewed idea of an obsessed love (at the time). It’s the introduction to the EP’s theme.”
And it really is the obsessed alt-rock/grunge you need in your life. Sounds we haven’t really heard played this well since the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Every song feels like something you’ve heard before, ages ago, on that mixtape you made for that girl you liked in high school but she’d rather date the quarterback instead (to use some stereotypical movie anecdotes).
In all seriousness, with True Love, Fangclub have delivered a timeless sound that we have been missing, a lot. Only a few riffs into EP opener Knife and you’re hooked, finding yourself looking up live dates and following the band on all social media channels you can find. In a sea of new bands emerging every day, this isn’t a given.
Knife packs a punch and sets the tone for the EP. Its the leader of a pack of infectious tunes and you can just see the mosh pits happening in your head already. The opening track also shows why Fangclub stand out from the crowd – they take their alt-rock and add a dash of pop hooks to it that make their songs so addictive.
The charged Smother is another example of their mainstream appeal. Its chorus almost reminds of 90’s Britpop of the likes of Blur, but better, wayyy better. Smother will most definitely make it onto your summer playlist, it’s one of those tracks you want to listen to turned up loud and with the windows down, rolling down a highway and playing those riffs on an air guitar or drumming away with your hands at the steering wheel.
Sweater Forever has an extremely sexy feel to it. Its slow, grungy guitars and raspy, longing vocals just make you let out a little sigh every now and again. The track pulls you in with its intensity and doesn’t let you go until it’s played its last note.
The EP finishes off with High, which once again showcases what the band do best and leaves you on a, well, high. The tracks urgent drums and classic guitar riffs have you longing for more.
True Love is one of those EP’s that will have a whole lot of new fans fall in love with Fangclub and a record that will thoroughly please their dedicated fanbase. It’s also one of those releases that you can imagine well in a live setting – and it doesn’t get any better than that.
Your only instructions are to turn this EP up as loud as you can when it’s released on Friday. You probably won’t turn it off for the rest of the day.
High Fives & Stage Dives 