‘We Are Good People’, claimed the title of UK post-hardcore troupe Group Of Man’s 2015 debut EP. Its follow up, released in January 2017, goes by the name ‘World Peace Champions’. It seems that Group Of Man have quite the high opinions of themselves (or are just being spectacularly sarcastic), however a cursory listen to said new EP does give plenty of reason to believe that the band have earned the right to have such a high opinion of themselves, though more because of the quality of their collective musical efforts than any clear shot they have at actually achieving world peace. You never know, though.
Group Of Man formed just 16 months ago, pieced together from remnants of Mine, Tempers Fray, Pariso and Hang The Bastard. In their first two months as a band they managed to write, record and release ‘We Are Good People’, which set something of a terrifying precedent for their follow-up, a set of songs they’ve had a full year to hone both in practice rooms and on stages around the country. If an EP as good as their debut could exist from nothingness in just 8 weeks, it puts a lot of pressure on whatever comes next to match or, hopefully, exceed those expectations. Thankfully, ‘World Peace Champions’ is a worthy successor, taking everything the band established on that first release and refining it, if not exactly revolutionising their formula.
Fans of some of the members’ previous bands may come in expecting to be blown away by unrelenting heaviness, however that’s not Group Of Man’s prerogative. Though still relatively heavy, their sound is more of a mixture of gritty British hardcore with ’80s post-punk, the overall effect not dissimilar to the sonic turn Coliseum took on 2015’s excellent ‘Anxiety’s Kiss’ album. Instrumental opener ‘A Weird Place’ kicks off with a brace of angular strummed chords and aching lead work before a warm bassline and pounding drums bring the song to life, setting the tone for the remaining 15 minutes or so. ‘That Animal Mask’ follows, Chris Barling’s strep-throat bark bringing in a shade more aggression, though that itself is tempered by the swooning guitars and crooned backing vocals in what could possibly be considered the song’s chorus. The juxtaposition of melody and heaviness is something the band handle well, able to meld the two without negatively lessening either’s effect.
‘World Peace Champions’ isn’t a world away from what the band achieved on their debut, and it is slightly disappointing that in a year the band have only managed another EP’s worth of material, especially considering how quickly they knocked out those first 6 tracks. The 5 songs here are definitely strong though, and taken purely on its own merits this is a great EP that the members should be proud of. The songwriting is on-point, each track feeling compact and tight without any unnecessary flab, and the playing and production are top tier throughout, though still rough enough around the edges to retain their punk rock flavour. Whether this record will actually bring about world peace is yet to be seen, but Group Of Man are definitely champions in their own right.
JAMES LEE