London-based alt-rocker Uzumaki release their debut album ‘Waded’ via Everything Sucks Music on 13 September. With influences ranging from Sonic Youth to Pulp and early Weezer, the record aims to capture the raw and real energy of the band in a live setting…
The 2 1/2-minute title track opens the record with a Breeders-esque bass line and shouts of losing your head and how the band ‘ended with nothing’ before the tempo increases further on the grunge-laden ‘Heaven’: ‘I knows it’s bad but I’m hooked on you’. It’s a joyous celebration of love (or lust?) that can’t fail to make you smile. This buzzy Cloud Nothings-meets-Teenage Fanclub sound continues through to ‘Scenes of Beauty’ – although this song adds call-and-response vocals and a touch of melancholy.
The band wear their Britpop influences proudly on their sleeve on ‘Game We Play’, a song that could be a little brother to Longpigs’ ‘She Said’, while ‘Change of View’ is another pacy track with an order to look at things from a different angle: ‘Somewhere new might change your view’. ‘Head Up’ has a punkier tone with handclaps and harmonies and ‘Downtown (Riding Around)’ is a breezy piece with relatable lyrics about watching TV, playing cards and eventually heading out for a night downtown…
‘Disguise Your Mindset’ combines ferocious drumming with whistling and defiant group chants of ‘Don’t disguise your mindset because everything’s fine’ and ‘I’m still here’, before ‘Catapult’ closes the album in anthemic fashion.
‘Waded’ is an album that doesn’t waste a moment.
UZUMAKI HEADLINE DATES:
11 September The Victoria, London
12 September Voodoos, Norwich
13 September The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
14 September Crofters Rights, Bristol