Tuesday 6 October 2015

Indian Handcrafts - Creeps (Album Review)


Release date: October 02nd 2015. Label: Sargent House. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Creeps– Tracklisting

1.Down At The Docks 04:19
2.It's Late Queeny 03:05
3.Murderers For Hire 03:07
4.Brothers Underground 04:05
5.Maelstrom 07:14
6.Snake Mountain 04:06
7.The Divider 06:29
8.Degenerate Case 02:54
9.Rat Faced Snorter 07:43

Band Members:

Brandyn James Aikins
Daniel Brandon Allen

Review:

If I'm perfectly honest I hadn't yet heard of Indian Handcrafts when this album arrived in my inbox ready to review. I love getting albums to review by bands I already know and love, but there is also something really exciting about putting on a record by an unknown quantity (to me) and hoping to find a new discovery.

Mission accomplished. From my very first listen my initial reaction would be to say I was reminded of Kylesa and "Leviathan" era Mastadon. (Which is the best Mastadon). But after a few listens this band goes deeper than that, and a more than just the sum of their influences.

First track "Down At The Docks" doesn't take long to establish itself with a fairly short intro, before the main riff and vocals kick in. I also love this song as it contains the lyric "Sharks are robotic, they'll kill you real fast" More bands need to write lines like this.

2nd track "It's Late Queeny" follows it's predecessor only in as much it doesn't mess around with a drawn out intro and fairly promptly kicks into a riff that wouldn't sound out of place on QOTSA record before they went shit. (my Mrs thinks it sounds like a heavy as hell Foo Fighters track)

And maybe she should be writing this review, as whilst it's obviously a heavy record, one that even the band themselves have described as more metal than previous efforts it's also not afraid of melody or hooks. I think it shows real songwriting skills to be able to balance between the two elements so well.

5th track "Maelstrom" is a standout track. It's the first song that manages to get past the four minute mark (7.15 to be exact) and as such features more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing.
A solid and hypnotic verse section, guitar harmonies and melodies which seem to perfectly capture the aquatic nature of the song.

The record end on the brilliantly titled "Rat Faced Snorter" which is the longest track on the record and features a more subdued drawn out intro which at around the minute mark lurches into a frenetic almost discordant riff which evolves and progresses as we move towards the chorus, which is layered with shimmering clean (ish) guitars and vocals drenched in reverb before it slams back into the main riff, repeats it all and then ends on a mixture of feedback and a combination of stabs from the guitars and drums. It's one hell of a song to finish a record with.....

Over the last couple of years I've discovered a few duo's (honourable mention to Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Mantar) who just got to show that you don't need two guitars and a bass tuned to the dirt to produce heavy, memorable and exciting music. I'm adding Indian Handcrafts to that list who have produced an excellent record, that whilst it might be short on run time isn't short on ideas or impact. Take the plunge and discover your new favourite band by ordering the record from here.......http://hellomerch.com/collections/indian-handcrafts

Words by Simon Ross Williams

Thanks to Dave at US/THEM Group for the promo. Creeps is now available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from Sargent House now.