Question; what's the best band no-one's ever heard of? I'm sure for each of you the answer will be different, especially with how vast music can be and the many opportunities there are to discover new favourites.
When I went to Field Day in 2012, the first band I watched was Revere. The best way I can describe the performance was the vocals of Ian Curtis or Tom Smith with the music prowess of Arcade Fire.
It was still early in the day, but I was taken aback by how enjoyable the performance was. So, I investigated, got myself a copy of their debut (and then, only) album and thought it while decent, lacked the punch of that gig. It had some great songs (We Won't Be Here Tomorrow and The Escape Artist) but was very long and difficult listen to in one sitting.
At the time, the band were seeking funds to support the creation of their second album. Although I couldn't at the time (certain financial problems involving a tooth), I was glad to see the band reach their total and kept track of the singles sporadically released, enjoying the more refined and straightforward approach the band was taking.
Now; My Mirror/Your Target hasn't technically been released in this territory (scheduled for 2014), I had to import a copy, and there was always the thought that what I was doing was utterly insane.
But thankfully; My Mirror/Your Target was well worth the price of admission and it will be to you next year.
Starting off with the slow, methodical piano work of I Won't Blame You, it quickly morphs into a stompy rock number. Quickly following in it's footsteps is Keep This Channel Open; with a catchy hook in the chorus that radio-stations would be stupid not to use for advertising, it's a short three minute pop-rock number with pleasing guitar riffs in the chorus and never outstays it's welcome
In fact; compared to the slow, brooding Hey! Selim, Revere find themselves more energetic and engaging when conforming to the more familiar formula of rock and roll. These Halcyon Days and Don't Look Up, Hannah! are in a similar mould, but with the latter, the anthem-esq approach is upped ten fold; simple piano bridging verse and chorus, a pounding beat and more catchy hooks make it one of the stand-out track's on the album.
That's not to say the entire album is made up of three-four minute radio-friendly-unit -shifters. The beautiful A Road from a Flood utilises a slow chord progression with backing trumpets, slowly morphing with the aid of an upbeat tempo into something more triumphant before slowing down again.
Album closer Maybe We Should Step Outside has more in common with Hey! Selim, slowly building for the first half before a crashing finale before slowly evaporating that will leave you asking for more. It's only fault is it sounds like two songs thrown together and, although it mostly works, there is distinction between the first and second halves, something not quite right, but there's far more working in favour than this grumbling.
On the whole, it's a surprisingly enjoyable album. It isn't perfect by a long shot; the production values of the album can be forgiven considering it's somewhat unorthodox funding but it is a little rough around the edges. The aforementioned Keep This Channel Open demonstrates this with it's mixing going from ear-drum burstingly loud guitar riff back to quiet verse despite the thumping beat and keyboards. It doesn't work in the same way as say, Pixies intentional formula of building up choruses but instead, sounds like something went wrong on the sound mixer.
The odd inclusion of an either re-recorded or remixed We Won't Be Here Tomorrow which again, loses it's punch from Hey! Selim with a more echoey sound, does serve as a distraction but also doesn't give the album a much needed breather after the first two tracks in the same as having A Road from a Flood immediately follow.
The biggest problem is the album's middle. Tadoma harken's back to the yonder days of Hey! Selim with mixed results. It does encapsulate the gypsy carnival fanfare of the previous album's atheistic but its song structure is eerily similar to the superior A Road from a Flood before it and it simply isn't as good.
Following that is Code; a near instrumental track with heavily distorted vocals which, much like later track Fold Up Your Flag, is one of the rockiest tracks on the album, but it doesn't really do anything other than fill time. The album's quickly saved by These Halcyon Days before this brief period lulls the album's momentum and intrigue any further.
Again, these are minor gripes in a bigger, more majestic picture. My Mirror/Your Target is a superb follow-up by one of the most criminally underrated bands out there today. It has it's minor faults but it's an album that deserves some attention and gives 2014 a great start (in the UK anyway).
It has the potential to sadly be one of the most overlooked and unappreciated albums of next year, make sure it doesn't.
8/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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