EP Review: Rotunda – Spoils Of War

Rotunda, from the Birmingham area like GBH and sounding not too dissimilar, gives me a bit of a headache but for not the reason you might think, it’s really hard to not like bands that have so much truth to be said, bands that say the things that need saying and in a way that makes you stand up and listen.  So there is my problem, that last sentence, yes I love the fact that they do get up and say it, but to get it noticed and listened to more, it does have to grab you and not let go, so being generic is my big issue and headache.

This four track EP has been about for some time now, and has only just landed in my ears.  First up is the title track ‘Spoils Of War’ a point of view song of the needless loss of life, the realities of war and being thrown on to the battlefield for reasons unknown to most.

Following this is possibly the least repetitive D-Beat song and best track of the EP, ‘I Accuse My Parents’ sits more in the UK Subs camp musically, a hard hitting song that takes all the wrongs that have been committed by a prisoner and lays the Blame squarely on the shoulders of his parents, whether this is sung tongue in cheek or literally isn’t clear.

The other 2 tracks, ‘Lawless’ and ‘If Theres A Will There’s A Way’ pretty much cover ground that pretty much has been covered before and in possibly much the same way.  

Musically not exactly ground breaking, lyrically on the money, vocally smashes it!   Just wish it grabbed me more, I’m sure that they are a band that are so much more impactful when seeing live, but for those fans of Discharge and the likes, this raises the bar, even if just a little.

PS, the track listing was mixed up on my device, only realised after writing this, and I can’t be arsed re-writing….

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