Lick Online - Demo Reviews

The Scottish Alternative rock scene is most definitely on the rise, but dont just take my word for it, This Familiar Smile’s 2nd EP really does back up that fact! With their debut release for Lockjaw, the Glasgow based quartet give enough reasons for us all to stop looking across the pond for the next band to cherish as we have one right under our noses, and I can safely say that the Carling Academy is sold out in advance with lesser acts.
Opening up with the stunning ‘An Ode To The Bomb’ which twists and turns and until a softer side is shown in the closing moments, the band do really give a statement of intent and this is continued throughout all four remaining tracks. ‘Love Is An Anchor That Drowns a Man’ and ‘For Me Paris Was Always A Spectator Sport’ show technical brilliance that will hopefully go on to influence many others to do the same. This Familiar Smile will obviously draw comparisons from such acts as At The Drive In and a more accessible Glassjaw, but a carbon copy they are not, adding their own unique blend of complex but melodic musicianship.
There is also no dead weight amongst the ranks with all four members combining equally to make a beautiful noise. With last years EP ‘The Days We Turn On Ourselves’ This Familiar Smile showed real promise of becoming a great band, and this time around they have well and truly kept that promise.

Andrew Mitchell

Sprouting forth from the wilds of Kinmundy, Aberdeenshire, jocular five piece Captain Face unleash their assault on an unsuspecting world with debut single ‘Awesome! No Way!’

The high octane, high pitched A side, borrowing though it does from everyone from Queens of the Stone Age to the B52’s, via The Darkness, certainly makes an impression, a particularly catchy bass hook and shout-a-long vocals wedging their way into the subconscious after the first listen.

Unfortunately, the supporting songs don’t quite match up. Jazz/rock crossover ‘Big Hands, Small Pocket’ doesn’t quite get its conflicting musical and vocal styles to either blend or create a satisfying clash.

Acoustic number ‘Horace’s Tea Party’, a lament about an irritating girlfriend, also fails to convince. Lines such as “lose that woman – strap on a pair” smack of mildly disgruntled teenage boys sitting in their bedroom trying to jam the blues.

Nonetheless, if your music collection is crying out for some Kinmundy based artistry (and whose isn’t?) ‘Awesome! No Way’ is out now from Fat Hippy records, with a mini album due for release in the summer.

Annie McLaughlin