LE RENO AMPS-Appetite CD

Scottish indie band deliver a new album that's possibly the most varied of their career to date. Things kick off with “This One's Not Waiting For” where a song that takes many twists and turns over just two and a half minutes, delivers a river of riff-fuelled verses that lead into lurching choruses, and along the way gives you glimpses of lead guitar breaks, surging drumming, all topped with an urgent vocal full of emotion that sings the verses but really hooks you in on the chorus of the title as it shudders and drives what's a great start to the album.
“Bad Blood” is just short of four minutes of indie songwriting that bounces along on a brassy march of a riff as the drums and bass sail back and forth, the jangly guitars deliver subtle melodies while the riffing guitars come into play as the song reaches its climax in the chorus before dropping back down to the sea of ringing guitars that turn into more ferocious riffing before the soaring vocals return and the song winds and whines its way into your consciousness, ending as bouncy as it began, only adding lots of overdubs to the repeated chorus as the whole thing piles layer on layer to the instrumental backdrop then ends as sharply as it began.
“Never Be Alone”, by contrast, is way more theatrical, an almost menacing, brooding lurch of a number that sounds more like it came from some London stage production of something like the story of the Lambeth Poisoner, its tale told and intoned with evil intent by the assorted vocalists that sound like a rather dark, slowly placed Placebo at work as the minimal backing is provided by drums and clipped guitar figures, the song's chorus rises to a climax in the best theatrical traditions. “Saturation Day” return things to “normal” with a solid, fast-paced slice of direct indie intensity as the song races along in a blaze of riffs, melodies, dramatic drumming and pounding bass, the multi-tracked and solid lead vocals equally commanding as the brief guitar break catches fire and the song returns to give you the repeated title.
The 4 minute “Sinners” slows the pace as what starts as a sprawled out indie ballad turns into a rising indie anthem, before dropping back to the softness of the multi-harmony vocal-led verses before the band intensify slowly with cymbal crashes, deep rivers of bass, shimmering guitar resonance and repeated one-liners that strike a chord in your head as well as your heart as it all crashes and flows to the eventual buzz of the guitar finale. “I'm Alive” is another romp through fast-paced indie songwriting as the multi-tracked vocals deliver clipped hooks and strident verses with intent, the nasally lead vocals now really taking hold of your heart as the band bounce and drive the repeated hooks and soaring verses to deliciously intense degree, the song veering between the sharpness of the lead vocal and the eye-opening effect of the repeated chorus, surging on a bed of band-driven, guitars-led heat.
“Cottonmouth Rock” actually doesn't – rock, that is – instead, it rolls and rolls quite fast, initially quite bouncy spurred on by beefy beats and hi-end howl of a vocal, when all of a sudden, this solid guitar riff comes out of nowhere and fuels the thing with power and energy as the whole thing lifts off. It then drops back, rolls, lurches and dramatically erupts, the vocals ranging from brooding intensity to that energetic rampage on the choruses. As a guitar break ignites the piece even more, the song totally justifies its four and a half minutes of rage and roll to adrenaline-rousing degree. “Weight”, by contrast, starts with undulating piano chords, stick-like percussion and this almost theatrical ballad is delivered with feeling by the lead and harmony vocals as the thing swings then scythes, crashing cymbals, deep drums and surging guitars giving the slow-mid-paced song strength and intensity before dropping back to the hook, only to rise up once again and really take off as the song soars and dives quite majestically. “You Must Remember” continues an almost “'60's-meets-Hazey Janes” type of rock 'n' roll with another anguished vocal served over almost brassy guitar riffs, the band unafraid to quieten the whole thing down, as the seriously upfront vocals launch into action over the stuttering surge of the instrumentation, swaying to and fro through delicacy and density. “Stuck In Your Throat” follows a similar pattern, only here the softer verses are still strong while the driving choruses and mid-song instrumental fire, give the composition variation, cohesion and variety.
The album ends with “Faded Star”, opening slowly and gradually blossoming into this huge, mighty, tower of a track with all guitars blazing, a massive sea of rhythm and wordless vocals to add to the intensity and see the track out. Overall, as I said, a really varied album, the more of which you play, the more you'll get out of it and get into it.

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