London indie rockers The Mighty Roars sound like an unholy union of Britpop and punk – the result is loud, sassy and full of unbridled energy.
Sellotape opens their debut album like an updated Elastica, while the unpolished guitar of ...Captain’s Ship follows the quiet/loud dynamic of the Pixies, the constant being the attitude-fuelled yowling from Swedish frontwoman Lara Granqwist.
Daddy Oh is the key cut of the record, blending bouncy pop with an explosive chorus that will destroy your will to resist as well as your eardrums – when Lara sings ‘All the boys wanna jump my style’, she ain’t just whistling Dixie.
If that stellar showpiece doesn’t win you over, there’s little hope for the remainder of the album, like the unhinged Kiss It, which comes along like the guitar, bass and vocals are all chasing the drums down the middle of a street, or Whale, which mixes Dee Dee Ramone bass with shards of guitar on the verses, while the chorus cries ‘I got a heart that’s as big as the ocean’ over a riff that’s equally large and unstoppable.
The acoustic Wish Everything provides a moment of respite, and Jude And Sienna’s floating vocals and dreamy melody prove Lara can do lovelorn equally as well as sassy, but if you let your guard down, the likes of the heavy-hitting Romeo or alt-rock jewel Bag It Up are there in an instant to set you straight.
Swine And Cockerel is almost exhausting just to listen to, it’s that energetic. And it’s damn near impossible to ignore.
Owen Heitmann