‘Big City Plans’ is the debut mini album from Birmingham’s Guerrilla Monsoon and on the whole it’s bloody brilliant. The relatively new four piece are quick out of the traps with opening track ‘Flock’. The two-minute jam is fast, fun, and gritty melodic punk-rock that stands up to anything we’ve heard from a UK band this year. The release then picks up momentum with the title track ‘Big City Plans’. It’s a little over two minutes again and that’s a real selling point here – big hooks, a touch of aggression in the vocals, and wrapping it up early before the temptation to repeat and eventually fade out kicks in.
‘Summer Romantics’ and ‘Whisky And Wine’ are the two stand out moments though. The former sees the band take a moment, a brief lull in an otherwise high tempo release, before the gang vocals kick back in. The latter, ‘Whisky And Wine’, is perhaps your more conventional three minute punk-rock track but the band do a good job of channeling their inner Hot Water Music here. The bridge is the defining moment of ‘Big City Plans’ as a release – building from a single bass line, adding an excellent vocal melody, then a crash of symbols, and finishing off with a heavy riff.
The second half of the release is every bit as punchy as the first but perhaps does lack a really killer vocal melody if we’re honest. ‘Open Letter’ is enjoyable, especially the Rufio-esque guitar riff in the outro, but as a whole isn’t memorable enough for a repeat play. The same could be levelled at ‘White Steps’ too but there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with either track.
Guerilla Monsoon’s ‘Big City Plans’ is a lightning quick introduction to a promising band. They’ve got the guitar riffs, the urgency, and the gritty breakdowns to step up and really be counted in the punk-rock scene.
TOM BECK