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7 out of 10
'See You In Another City'? Yeah, loads by the looks of Brummie four-piece Blakfish's touring schedule. Twenty plus dates with Colour, Johnny Foreigner and Tubelord in August and September. Fans of the latter will probably find quite a lot to like here as well.
Opener, 'Preparing For Guests' probably fumes even more than it did when it was first heard on BSM's '6 Machine' vinyl compilation. The screaming is convincing, while the combination of heavy (Borderline nu-metal on some occasions) crunch with Foals-style beats and ghostly, disembodied multi-part vocals are an exciting indicator of what talents Blakfish have in their locker. They're probably not heavy enough to justify the comparisons to Converge, but their dynamic approach to hardcore makes it difficult not to take seriously the ones with The Blood Brothers and The Fall Of Troy.
The furious 'My Stomach Feels Like My Stomach's Been also has enough twists and time signatures to turn your stomach even more than title already does Cut' (Does it not make anyone else feel a bit squeamish?). By the end of 'See You In Another City' it feels like a patchwork of all that's been good about UK punk and hardcore in the last three years or so, hopefully on their debut full length they're own voice will become more obvious.
Million Dead and Meet Me In St. Louis would be proud of the marvellous title to 'Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man', and probably equally impressed by the scattergun alt. pop melodies and shout-along chanty bits that turn up on 'Carnival Carnivore' as well. In between, 'Make Your Bed And Lie In It' is one of the grooviest and most nihilistic hardcore songs since 'Orchestra Of Wolves'. The "My brain is my body and my body is my brain/My body is my mind and my find feels the same" refrain should be being belted out like Gallows' "The hardest thing you'll ever learn." soon.
It'll be easy to lump Blakfish with Gallows, Ghost Of A Thousand, Blackout and the like, plus the speed with which they've become favourites on the punk blogosphere ups the possibility of a backlash, which would be a shame. One, because they're only on their first EP; and two, because Blakfish have more depth to them than most others.
Listen: www.myspace.com/blakfish
Tracklist:
1. Preparing For Guests
2. My Stomach Feels Like My Stomach's Been Cut
3. Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man
4. Make Your Bed And Lie In It
5. Carnival Carnivore
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