SOUND OF GUNS

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Posted Saturday, 12th June 2010 | 1,508 page views.

Sound Of Guns: What Came From FireBy Jessica Thornsby

There's something vaguely Snow Patrol-esque about thegeneral aura of earnestness and feeling that enshrouds Soundof Guns' debut full-length. 'What Came From Fire' is an albumof big, heartfelt indie-rock ballads with stadium-pleasingchoruses but, while it's easy to imagine their glossy, sleekanthems clogging up the mainstream radio waves, Sound ofGuns always throw a spanner in the works. Whether it's anunder-produced crackle or an unusual riff, Sound of Gunsmanage to sound accessible and instantly likeable, withoutbeing buffeted to a sterile shine.

Previous single 'Architects' is a gleaming howl of mainstream rock, underpinned by thataforementioned crackle, while some unusual riffing is on the cards for 'Elementary of Youth'and 'Bullets In The Bloodstream.'

Sound of Guns churn out a bristling riff that rises and falls and grumbles like a chainsawbeneath 'Bullets In The Bloodstream's sleek surface, while frontman Andy labours to ensureevery line is bursting with hooks. But, it's in the closing moments where 'Bullets In TheBloodstream' really comes into its own, cherry-picking this song's most urgent lyrics, stickingthat aforementioned grating riff on a loop, and cranking the volume up to maximum. Amajestic ending to an already dramatic song.

Meanwhile, on 'Elementary of Youth,' the vocals and the guitars team up, jagging to theexact same, back-and-forth rhythm, amidst lashings of your atypically dramatic, rock-balladriffing. Impressively, Andy navigates those knife-edge vocal turns, whilst still managing tosound melodic.

Lead-off single 'Alcatraz' makes good use of Andy's vocal prowess, replacing the usual two-storey-high chorus with a lively call-and-response vocal ricochet that's pretty muchirresistible. Expect to be singing along, halfway through your very first experience of'Alcatraz.'

'Collisions' and 'My White Noise' are a little bit different. On 'Collisions,' Sound of Guns takea breather from bellowing their hearts out, and concentrate on having a good time.'Collisions' has an infectious groove, and Andy even test-drives a very stylish, hard-rock-infused holler, which adds to this song's jazzy cool. Meanwhile, on 'My White Noise' it's theeasy-on-the-ear melodies which are given the elbow. After rattling your teeth with a barrageof pointed drumbeats, this spiny track lurches into a chorus of gunshot-drumming and spikyvocals that'll needle you into submission. 'My White Noise' is big, shiny, melodic rock, withneat little hooky barbs you won't be expecting.

It's difficult to pick favourites when it comes to 'What Came From Fire,' not just because ofthe consistent high quality, but because 90% of this album is cut from the same musicalcloth. 'What Came From Fire' is as samey as any one album can sound, without losing thelistener's interest. But, by a fraction, album highlights are 'Backs of Butterflies' and the aptly-named 'Lightspeed.' The latter kicks off with a ferocious drum-roll and escalates from thereinto a cinematic swirl of mammoth vocals and wave upon wave of guitars, where every chinkof white space is crammed full of urgent backing vocals. 'Lightspeed' is a blast of threedimensional musical drama with a storm of a chorus.

Other highpoint 'Backs of Butterflies' can boast this album's best chorus, serving up awonderfully no-nonsense, rabble-raising stomp that was designed to rattle stadium rafters.'Backs of Butterflies' is a life-affirming tidal wave of big, fat, juicy vocals and a drumline that'llget your head nodding and your feet stamping in no time.

Album low point is the pretty, languid, six-minute-plus snooze-fest of '106 (Still The Words).'The synth-encrusted guitars drift along and, if it wasn't for the vaguely tribal rumble of thedrums, the entire verse would be a completely pointless outing. Sound of Guns do finallykick it into second gear for the chorus. Despite the awkward verse-to-chorus transition, thechoruses do have a swing to their step, and after so many pointless, sparkling riffs, this justmight just feel like the edgiest thing you've ever heard. The overriding impression of '101(Still The Words)' is that this song doesn't have nearly enough ideas to justify its six and ahalf minute running time: nowhere is this more apparent than the draggingly dull closingminutes.

Sound of Guns end on a surprisingly sedate note, with the long, steady, easy-on-the-earssway of 'Starts With an End.' The rise and fall of Andy's voice is lulling. This isn't aparticularly strong Sound of Guns song, but it's sweetly melodic and undemanding, andeases you out of this album of wall-to-wall anthems nicely.

'What Came From Fire' is a big, heartfelt rock album abounding with overwrought,emotionally-charged choruses. Sound of Guns wisely add a few individual quirks to eachanthem, successfully avoiding the strange pitfall of being too accessible and too instantlylikeable (i.e boring.) This is about as polished as an album can get, without beginning tosound overproduced, plastic and dull. Sound of Guns might just be the band to reaffirm yourfaith in the stadium-sized rock-ballad.

Related Links:www.myspace.com/soundofguns

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