Combining a complex brand of math core inspired riffing with an interstellar style of electronics makes this album feel totally unique. Sure other bands have tried, some with great success – Rolo Tomassi and The Dillinger Escape Plan, for example – but neither really do what This Be The Verse do.
Clear by the pomegranate fuelled video that accompanies ‘Unveil’, it is an emotive masterpiece. Epic building acoustic guitars, as is so often the case with This Be The Verse, reveal a crescendo of giant proportions. It’s an excellent first single!
Whether it’s “This is all we want, we want the truth” in ‘Adieu’ or the abruptly heavy cries of “fuck religion” and “fuck oppression” on ‘I Am Charlie’, a socially aware lyrical overtone is present on a large percentage of tracks. The closing song, ‘I Am Charlie’, is a delicate, subtle number, for the most part at least. Crammed with all the bells and whistles you’d come to expect, it eventually erupts.
The only sad thing about this album is it’s almost a victim of overdoing it although the level of intellect and experimentation is first class. At times it feels like actually good songs have been messed about with just that bit too much; a brilliantly crafted album but lacking that bit in terms of catchiness and memorability.
Moodier and certainly darker than the often harsh attacks brandished by their colleagues, TBTV set about capturing you in an electric-tech storm. The London band seem to create scores of music rather than actual songs. Melding a mammoth range of influences and genres into individual five-minute soundtracks, each with a sense of chaos, yet with perfect symmetry. It’s simply astounding. The songs are pretty good but the level of creativity and musicianship is something to behold.
LEW TROTT