Dutch rock band Avery Plains started as a kind of big pand, a septet with four guitarists. Now down to a quartet they have tightened up their sound for their new album soOn, going for a blend of New Wave, noise rock, post-punk and even a bit of prog in the title track. The band members honed their chops in the bands of the Groningen underground scene, mainly through playing in that city's leading rock club Vera.
soOn is dark and foreboding, reaching out to disgruntled teens and seasoned fans of gritty, distorted sounds. By contrast the vocals are quite melodic, almost tender at times and the ensuing tension that is created by these two worlds make it an album that requires undivided attention to fully appreciate. Persist and it becomes truly captivating in the end. Recommended if you like Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth, but the uninitiated should start with the album's closing track, the acoustic History Of Failure, a tune that could be mistaken for a long lost unplugged session outtake.
Avery Plains:
Kay Tsjassing: bass, vocals
John Krol: guitar
Jurgen Veenstra: guitar, vocals
Michel Webe: drums, vocals
soOn is released via Flat Plastix Records (vinyl, CD, cassette, digital). Release date: July 31.
Tracks:- Two Sad Wings
- Soon
- A Song Of My Own Rising
- Not A Living Soul
- Bounces For Kay
- All Be Unstabilized
- Blancmange Blancmange
- Leaping For Throats
- Tinkerbell
- We Are The Crippled Kind
- History Of Failure
