It’s what’s popular with “the kids” these days, this melodic/hardcore punk malarkey. And listening to Kidd Blunt, it’s clear they’re in their element when exploring what can be done using only vocals, bass, guitar and drums. And despite a similar foundation, the resulting sound couldn’t be further from their dorky eldest cousin James Blunt if it tried.
The Kilcoole foursome instead draw inspiration from the likes of Fugazi, At The Drive-In and Trivium, but the dual vocals of Eoin and Turlough add a ferocity all of their own, coming into effect particularly on ‘Shanghai’ and ‘Oat’.
Sounding promising so far? It gets better, because Grey, Black, Grey avoids the pitfall of many of the band’s contemporaries in that they aren’t more ambitious than their talent allows. There are no seven-minute, badly-played epics that seem designed to bore the life out of you while the guitarist shows off the aural equivalent of his holiday photos. The longest song, ‘Hanger’, clocks in at 4min 47secs, and is in fact the most accessbile, thanks to clearly defined shifts in their playing and a concession to melodic choruses.
They might not be the best musicians in the world, but a hark back to Kill ‘Em All by Metallica will reveal the same sense of passion over anal musicianship, which is in fact all that’s required from a debut. Impressive stuff.