The White Widows are a band just that little bit out of their time, evocative more of the grubby indie explosion of the early 2000’s than today’s more inoffensive guitar scene. Their self-titled debut is an album dripping in character, most affrontingly via a vocal snarl that brings to mind The Zutons’ Dave McCabe at his most dramatic. Opener ‘Circus’ sets the stall out immediately, hyper-theatrical it might appear contrite not for that pervasive feeling of claustrophobic menace imbued by bright, grimacing guitars and that aforementioned lyrical snarl.
‘Talking to Yourself’ follows, and reveals a subtle ska-punk influence in its off-beat rhythms that continues in ‘English Sky’. The latter track is the album’s highlight, lent depth by a subtle infusion of organ and a weave of riffs and backing vocals. ‘Wastin’ Our Time’ comes close to matching, lurching along atop an earworm bassline and an infectious off-kilter swagger. Across all the tracks however it’s always the vocals that stand out above the rest, aggressive and exhilarating yet at no point offputing. Take the track ‘Fightback’ for example, where their singer blisters through with fiery abandon, it’s at points like these that the group sound nothing short of incredible.
It’s instrumentally that the group are a little inconsistent, for though the record has ample highlights on occasion it can slip back to by-the-books indie-rock. ‘I Don’t Care’ for example, a pacey, loud, and ultimately farily anonymous track, and though ‘Only Sometimes’ shoots for the emotions it just falls slightly short. Some additional textures wouldn’t go amiss either, for though the group’s guitar-led sound is an appealing one, an injection of some wider sounds to match their broad influences would most certainly be a welcome one.
That said this is anything but a bad album, and though it lacks a bit of streamlining as a singular piece across the individual tracks there’s plenty to love. It’s the kind of record that could only have been made in Merseyside – and would have fitted right in with the golden age of Deltasonic. Though there’s clearly more talent that the band have to delve, for now we can content ourselves with an excellent early effort.
For more on The White Widows visit their Facebook page & give them a listen here.
Patrick Clarke
