These Brooklyn-based garage rockers describe themselves as ‘Son House meets Sonic Youth,’ but they follow the same two-piece bluesy rock template of White Stripes (there’s even a female drummer) and The Black Keys. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not every bit as enjoyable as their predecessors.
Actually, it’s not really fair to pigeonhole this band too neatly into that White Stripes/Black Keys formula. The EP is sandwiched between a pair of slow and sleazy rockers: “Everyday is a War” and “The World is Ending.” At first glance, these tracks seem a bit derivative, but Graveyard Lovers only use these as bookends, nay footnotes, to give context to the rowdy indie energy inside.
“Urban Blues” diverges and expands into some old school grungy alt-rock. The track presents a surprisingly big and complex sound for a two-piece band. The aggressive indie-rock of “Ripe to Misbehave” follows with a wild ‘80s post-punk vibe and some shouty Isaac Brock-esque vocals. The jangly blues of ‘Burn the Malls” cools everything back down in preparation for the 12 bars of “The World is Ending.”
EPs are generally just a spattering of the best recordings a band has managed to put together at any given moment, but the thought and planning evident here is closer to what you would expect from a full-fledged album. This five-track debut gives a taste of this group’s ability and, hopefully, a promise of more to come.
http://graveyardlovers.bandcamp.com/
Review By David Feltman
