If you’re unfortunate enough to be mired in the dankness of American college radio, you’ve no doubt noticed the oppressive stranglehold the new Seattle scene has on indiekids nationwide - everyone wants to be Fleet Foxes and Fleet Foxes want to tucked up in a mountain pass somewhere with their beards and their ostinatos and their echoing voices (oices-ices-ces-es-s-…). So, in a time when everyone seems to be unplugging their amps, it is impossible to overstate the welcome sound of anyone willing to turn theirs up to eleven—and when that band is good at what they do, the results can be ravishing.
Draygo’s Guilt are very good at what they do. When I was first introduced to them, the music was described to me as The Doors meets Joy Division. Personally, I would throw The Animals in their as well (and not just because “House” is a version of “House of the Rising Sun” that captures all the energy and passion of the classic recording but with better vocals). The single, “Pulse” is bluesy fuzzpop with a hook to die for and a groove to match. You can head over to MySpace to hear a handful of tracks or download the entire album, Trust Me…, from draygosguilt.com (hint: free music is good).
Pulse itself is a low key stomp of a track, built out of a swirling and repeating fuzzed out bassline, and subtle drumming for the most part. This leaves the vocals standing proud with a distinctive haunting style, which at the same time seems familiar and comforting and a breath of fresh air. If you are getting used to the hugely layered sounds seemingly popular with bands of late, featuring lots of synths and effects, then Draygo’s Guilt’s classic three piece approach may come as a bit of a surprise, with a simple yet enticing rhythm line and minimal yet brilliantly effective guitar lines.
Nothing before or since has ever lived up to the atmosphere of (80s vampire movie classic) The Lost Boys for me. The surf on the motorbikes, the spooky fairground at night, the cave on the rocky beach, the leather jackets, the Jim Morrison-as-deity subtext... swoon. Nothing, that is, until now. 'Pulse' has that Echo and the Bunnymen sense of romantic vulnerability, along with the taste of blood on a knife's edge. Add some overdriven guitars and shamanic tambourines to the mix and we have ourselves the kind of record a vampire could dance to..
Draygo's Guilt are far more exciting prospect than The Doors ever were, and display more creativity in a single track than the crack-addled Doherty has produced in his career to date. Echoes of New Order, Interpol and the recent, heavier Arctic Monkeys loom large as angry guitars rip into epic drums and thundering bass. There's an unashamed tang of early Oasis about opener “Pulse”, and that's no bad thing. Lead singer and songwriter Jon Clews has an astonishing voice – one of those raw, damaged but strangely radio-friendly vocals that still manages to sound interesting by the end of the album. Considering that this record has been mostly home recorded and self-produced, the quality of the sound here is outstanding.
It's tunes that carry albums and this one's full of them. “Something Dangerous” could sit happily on an Arctics' album, while the brief respite of “Maybe” talks warily of “futures made of babies” over undulating ripples of guitar. No track outstays its welcome. “Neon” punches you repeatedly in the face with a snare drum, but in a good way, while “Footsteps” rounds off events in style.
The band are giving away the album as a free download in the hope that fans will share it and word will spread. I'd advise you to take their advice and get hold of it now – this is an awesome statement of intent from a band who should have major labels salivating like bloodhounds. This album's like a rollercoaster. It shakes you up, throws you about, makes you feel afraid one minute and glad to be alive the next. Then a gypsy steals your wallet. And as soon as the ride's over, you want to do it all over again. Brilliant.
One-third Rugby but shaped by London life, the band has spent the past two years recording their nine-track album in bedrooms and cellars.
The rhythm section meanwhile is made up of Jonny and Dom French, who recall the intensity and foreboding of Hook and Morris, especially on ‘Gordon’. Their sound is reminiscent of late 70s post-punk, again comparable to Joy Division; when blatant anger became passé, and frustration was expressed instead through tight beats, pummelling bass, contained jangling guitars, and sinister clean vocals instead of heathen screaming. There are bluesy undertones too, but this mish-mash of nods to the past is held together by a stylish and unmistakably 21st century mood and disillusionment.
Leading single ‘Pulse’ opens the album with a Queens Of The Stone Age droning intro, quickly morphing into a slow and throbbing paean of depression, full of distortion and lyrics about eyes, enhanced by subtle guitar sounds and spoken poetry. The catchiest song on the album is ‘Blacklist’, which broods and stomps like a moody teenager, accusing you of “giving me a dirty look”.
‘House’ is a short but fantastic rendition of ‘House of the Rising Sun’, done with all the gusto and balls of The Animals, before fading into strummed guitar. ‘Maybe’ is the token slow song, which creates a desert sounds cape overlaid with a smooth, haunting vocal performance and high and angelic guitar chimes, the ending not unlike Stone Roses classic ‘Waterfall’ in a minor key. Parts of ‘Footsteps’ sound rather like The Doors’ trademark sensual trundling beat, whilst ‘Neon’ wouldn’t sound out of place played alongside Arctic Monkeys at a trendy indie nightclub.
Strangely, Draygo’s Guilt are often comparable to Cave In’s Antenna golden days, due to the echoing and rich nature of the album; but it is to Joy Division that this threesome owe most, in their sound, attitude, atmosphere, and lyrics… which means, really, they’ve learnt from the best.
All in all, this is a sophisticated and likeable debut, with some cracking tracks; ‘Blacklist’ and ‘Maybe’ being possibly the best of a great bunch. Hopefully when the finished product is released in physical form it will be a little longer, with a more dramatic ending than ‘Footsteps’; and presumably, they will somehow manage to reflect their sound in the album artwork. Draygo’s Guilt are a very welcome breath of clear morning air; hopefully the sun is rising on a new era for indie.
Distortion working? Check. Echo on the vocals? Check. Errhm feedback? Check. Draygo's Guilt is ready to enter your eardrums. The band is fronted by Jon 'Clewsie' Clews who leads the trio through ZZ Top bass lines with the wall-to-wall sound of early Eighties UK doom pop on their album Trust Me.... It's a black after hours record that tells stories about night life (Neon) and getting in trouble (Something Dangerous). To call one minute interlude between songs ... is a bit odd, but it's better than "untitled" or something like that. Despite all the gloom Trust Me... lights up on occassion.
The band are having fun too. You can almost picture them grinning in the studio when they decided to cut a cover of House Of The Rising Sun. It's short, lo-fi and sparse (and renamed House). The lead single Pulse has been making waves in the UK already and with this album Draygo's Guilt will appeal to fans of the Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order and the Libertines.
Whenever you arrive at a band’s MySpace page and read their influences (presuming it is a serious list) you can usually assume what kind of band they will be. As soon as I read the unholy trinity of Oasis, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones I immediately assumed that Draygo’s Guilt would deliver another moribund slab of grotesque lad rock. The kind of dirge my good friends from Outraze might deliver. Thankfully there is a bit of nous involved in this release. Front man Jon Clews possesses a potent voice, strongly reminiscent of Doves’ Jimi Goodwin, the tone of the album lies somewhere between early eighties post-punk and the noughties revivalists such as Editors and Interpol.
The standout tracks ‘Blacklist’ and ‘Pulse’ are driven by the echoing factory floor percussion that powered the vintage taste making spotlight beam, causing everything up north to become illuminated. Whilst this release is unlikely to turn up trees it will at least give Draygo’s Guilt the opportunity to climb up the food chain a little way and perhaps escape the toilet circuit. It’s quite interesting that the band will be playing a Christmas Party alongside Alan McGee since they appear to be the kind of band that would float the ‘great’ impresario’s boat. Similar to Glasvegas (a band championed by McGee) Draygo’s Guilt offer nothing new but they have the same happy knack of writing absorbing populist shout along anthems. 'Trust Me...’ is worth a punt since it is currently available to download for free.
Thought I'd write a little bit about an unsigned band I came across this week, they've got an album out, free download from their website. I suppose this is some kind of review.....read more. Now I know in the past I've given out about bands giving away their music, and churning out albums before they are ready, so I'm just going to look at the album on it's merits, and leave my opinion on the strategy at the door. Opening with Pulse, the track you can download below, it's got echoes of New Adventures In Hi-Fi era REM, and Kings Of Leon, with an odd spoken word section towards the end, it's a promising introduction.
The album then steps up a gear with Something Dangerous, which has a real bite, and Blacklist which is sounds a bit lost and desperate, in a good descriptive way, not like a sad old man. The next tracks called Gordon, and I'm worried, it's not about Gordon Brown is it? It could be? I'm always shit at interpreting lyrics, unless it's rap, though that's usually pretty obvious, so this could very well be a pseudo-political effort. It's rather good, ebbs and flows, and I have to say I'm enjoying the album, a lot more than I thought. I'm going to stop it there though, as I'm not really one for reviews. If you like what you have heard so far, download the rest of the album yourself. Ha!!
This could be the first review in history of "journalism" where the writer actually just gave up, mid-album, but if I tell you the whole story, you won't bother, will you. See, method to the madness.
Self-produced bedroom recording it may be, but there’s nothing amateur about Draygo’s Guilt’s debut single ‘Pulse’. With obvious influences such as Joy Division and Oasis shining through, it’s initially a bizarre proposal: think Britpop anthemic and melodic vocals over a post-punk rhythm section and atmospheric guitars. The London-based trio is led be Jon ‘Clewsie’ Clews, whose attention-grabbing voice and lyrics make the single stand out.
The intro stomps out full of bassy sensuality, before being joined by jangling distorted guitars. The track plumbs new depths of sinisterness with the use of a blasé spoken break razorblades, before coming back full force with the chorus. A mature debut, which bodes well for forthcoming album Trust Me… in 2010.
Draygo’s Guilt is a three piece from London made up of drummer, Johnny French, bass player, Dom French and masterminded by John “Clewsie” Clews. The band's sound is described as “nasty, catchy songs that you haven’t heard since punk got boring and Joy Division came to an abrupt and untimely end.” The band has taken the DIY approach to produce their upcoming album which has taken the last two years to complete.The overall tone of the album is a melodic and dark combination, melancholy in some areas but this sound works great. Songs such as the opener and upcoming single. “Pulse” are reminiscent of bands such as Kasabian, Ian Brown and The Vines with its combination of dark, heavy bass lines and powerful guitar solos...
“Blacklist” and “Neon” are roller coasters of songs often working you up with their mixture of exploding guitars and ear shattering vocals before slowing you down with the calmer sections of each song. The band take punkier elements with songs such as “Something Dangerous” which has a hint of the Pigeon Detectives faster repertoire and “Gordon” where the certain sections sound similar to the Knacks, “Hey Sharona.” The band even take a nod to the Animals, “House of the Rising Sun,” turning it into something ferocious with deep overwhelming vocals and melodic guitar solos. Calmer songs such as “Maybe” are soothing and prove the band aren't all about fast guitars and intense vocals but also about softer guitars and much more gentle vocals. The lyrical content is deeply emotional with lines such as, “It stings but I don’t care.” Overall the album is a fantastic mixture of dark melodies, deep and powerful vocals and shattering guitar sounds. The album showcases the certain type of energy that most good bands have which is a definite plus.