MELODRAMAS – Melodramas
February 2nd, 2010 | Published in Reviews
When south coast youngsters Melodramas released their debut EP last year, we grabbed a copy, liked it and stated that the band were “on the cusp of stepping up to the next level” (read the full review here ). Since then the lads have played Southsea Fest (I missed them, but did catch up with Greg for a chat, whilst CUTA writer Matthew Clarke seemed to thoroughly enjoy them), had a mini-tour of Australia, supported The New York Dolls, played Kuwait-stock(!) and are, as I write this, making final preparation for a gig in Vietnam (at a club called Apocalypse Now – how I want to go there!).
Things have most certainly changed for the band then, and this is reflected in the songs here. Where their first release dealt with life in and around Portsmouth, the scope is wider here, as is the sound. Gone is the indie-pop and in it’s place we hear a more wide ranging arc of influences, from the garage-rock scuzziness of The Paris Metro to Ewoks, with a sound that reminds these ears of early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or perhaps Hot Hot Heat with it’s angular guitars. The outlook is a little less rose tinted too, perhaps as the last year has seen the boys mature rapidly.
If they were on the cusp of bigger things when we saw them last, today finds Melodramas making their way along that road at a brisk pace and all this with a set of tunes knocked up in a garage for thirty quid… splendid!
check out Melodramas at: www.myspace.com/melodramastheband