Popclaw – Atomic Summer EP

I’m sure my readers can relate to this, the first time you hear a band you’ve never heard before, its usually a mixture of these thoughts, “why did I just waste the last half hour of my life”, or “this is ok, but I heard it all before”, maybe “this is good, but I think it’ll grow on me the more I listen”, but then now and then there’s the “fucking hell, who exactly are these, why is the EP/album that short!, I totally love this”.  The last statement is normally only reserved for a very few, its something that not every music listener might even understand or care to admit so easily, and that’s because, for some reason, some lovers of music can actually be too critical and not just go with the raw emotional feeling that comes from just loving something without really knowing why.  Anyway, what I’m trying to convey, is that this for myself was a The Halfcuts (Checkout ‘Serotonin’ on Spotify), LoGoz, or Jo Jo And The Teeth moment, I picked these bands specifically, because they somehow captured that raw “fuck yeah” feeling immediately, for no other reason than, it just was.

Popclaw do all this in the four songs on this their debut EP. Atomic Summer is a triumph of heart over head music, its full of self recorded rawness, there are moments throughout that some may ponder on whether or not better production would have been the way, but I for one am glad they never messed with the sound in that way. ‘Lets Start A Riot’ drops in with a “hey you ready” and off we go, pure Rock n Roll in a bedroom made way. The fact that this duo made up of Dan Lawley and Chris Bird have never even met in person is also a massive surprise, because this sounds like its been made in a room in one take with people dancing their heads off.  Yes some of its simple, maybe even a little rough round the edges, a vocal that feels stretched at times, but that the best part about it, this is DIY at its best.

‘Anthem Of Chaos’ has a familiar sound, yet it also makes you nod your head and smile like you’ve just found something nobody else has discovered yet, its the simplicity of it all, a chorus that just bounces and grabs you. The title track ‘Atomic Summer’ slows it down a tad, it has an urgency about it that if I had to pick a track on the EP that could do with something a little more, this would be it, a great song that just needs a slightly harder tempo. Then you sadly get to the end of the EP, yes that quickly, ‘Chasing Shadows’ does nothing more than the last three tracks, but it doesn’t need to, it leaves you just wanting more.

So, here’s the final wrap up, the bit where, after you’ve listened to the EP yourself, thought “well not sure I totally get why this guy thinks this is that good”, yeah I could agree with that, and did I over egg it, maybe, but this born from a knowing that something special can really grow from right here, the potential this duo has is right there in all four songs, it makes it even more of an exciting time when you know that this is only the start and live performances could/should only underline this.

Out today via the band themselves, drop over to the bands links HERE for more info