Things are going extremely well for this young Brighton based 4-piece, they're playing the official Great Escape Festival for the first time this year after having created quite a storm at last year's event with their infamous basement party and shows performed from the back of a van. I saw them live at Bleach last year and, despite going on stage nearly an hour later than advertised, they did more than keep my attention. They're a really exciting live band and, with 'Young & Numb' in particular, they've managed to distill that energy potently in the studio as well.

With 'Young & Numb' they've developed a retro studio sound that, I find it almost imposible to listen to it without thinking of Nirvana – that vocal sound, the bass, the drums, even the effects on the guitar in the verses remind me of classic Nirvana but if that was all there is to them I would have grown bored long ago and stopped listening. The layered vocals and guitars are used very intelligently, the vocal lines are hooky but not saccharine and the studio sound has been pushed as far is it can go – the levels of distortion are brutal but not messy, so there's great articulation to the notes no matter how full on they are. 'Young & Numb' also boasts the best video I've seen a Brighton band come out with for some time with it's clever homages to vintage horror films.

The second track 'Fizz' is new to this release and it's similarly brutal, which masks the more melodic elements within the song. There's a dark mood to the Demob Happy sound, in those fuzzy driving bass-lines and the close harmonies which are almost Alice In Chains-esque, but that's only half the story, this band also clearly have a sense of humour, albeit a dark one, which makes quite a vivid impression. 'Succubus' didn't make a great impression on me when I first heard it a few months ago, but it has grown on me over time and fits in well on this four track collection.

'Milk Parlour', the final song on the EP, starts off with a riff that reminds me vaguely of The Jam's version of the theme from the classic 60's Batman TV show before stripping down into a verse which has shades of early Kings Of Leon, particularly in lead singer and bassist Matt Marcantonio's vocal delivery. As you might expect the chorus kicks in with wild abandon, Demob Happy possess a ferocious free-flowing nature that none of the other bands mentioned here could ever muster (except Nirvana of course). On the strength of this EP which the band are casually dropping, in time for Record Store Day, I expect Demob Happy are going to grow and grow as the year progresses. As one of the hardest working rock bands in town they really deserve to go far and the public seem hungry for this original souped-up take on the Seattle sound of the early 90's. We're looking forward to seeing them drive the crowd insane at our Alternative Great Escape Showcase on the 15th May – see you there!

Adam Kidd
 

Website: demob-happy.com
Twitter: twitter.com/DemobHappy
Facebook: facebook.com/demobhappy