RIESER - In A Children's Army CD-EP

Latest offering, following several EP's and a debut album. The title track opens things up and it's superb. A chugging, bouncing slice of wickedly good indie-pop with a good vocalist who delivers the song with authority, the initial burst of verse reminding me a bit of Dundee's The Law , only more intense, as drums crunch and bounce, bass runs sound and the guitars soar and dive all around the flowing vocal. This then leads into the multi-tracked hook that then leads into this addictive chorus that reminds me of a band so famous, I can't for the life of me think who they are just now. Either way, it's a mix of catchy verses and addictive choruses delivered by a band with purpose and conviction, and once you've heard it, you'll have those hooks flowing around your head for hours after. The song goes into a fast-paced mid-section with guitars lifting off, before it's one final attack on the hook and chorus combined to leave you in no doubt that this is one solid, powerful and completely addictive slice of indie-pop greatness. Then you get a bizarre item in the form of a live rendition of the track “Poker Face”, as made famous by you-know-who, but – and this is the weird thing – they perform it so seriously, that if you didn't know it was a cover, you'd think it was a remarkably good band-composed track. They've arranged it to fit the band so that drums and bass crunch along, the guitar flows and flies while the lead and harmony vocals deliver a song that you'd think was really rather fine. Strange times are upon us!! After this, there's an emotive electro-acoustic rendition of the last electric single “Drinking Den” recorded on radio and here the band deliver a sound slice of commercial emotion with crisp acoustic, soaring electric guitars and dual lead and harmony vocals delivering another supremely catchy song with a message and conviction – and I'd advise you to go get the original EP to hear this in its full electric glory. Finally, there's “Flaregun”, an acoustic track sung with passion and soaring emotion as the vocal really flies, showing just what a great singer this guy is, if you hadn't already guessed. It's a song that swings from lift-off to softness in a heatbeat as another rousing hook takes hold. The acoustic guitar work is warm sounding and the whole track is heartfelt and has the required and desired effect. All told, one faultless EP that you'd do well to hear and be your starting point to investigate the other excellent releases from a Scottish unsigned band who really shouldn't be in that position.
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