Depth

Situations Fulfilled

Written by: DR on 14/07/2011 17:51:38

Nostalgia can be a good thing - it can be a great thing! If you were to listen to early Funeral for a Friend records, for example, it would take you back to being that teenager when you first fell in love with music, and you'd be reminded of why you fell in love with that band, or any other band for that matter, in the first place. Nostalgia is part of the reason why those seminal records which arrived at the birth of a scene/genre remain timeless to us listeners, and have survived the myriad of copycat bands over the years; it's why, years later, they're still special, stand-alone records in their genre.

I use Funeral for a Friend as an example because it's evident based on their sound that Depth, from Norwich, England, had grew up with FFAF during their rise from underground stars to mainstream mainstays of UK rock music, and as such, "Situations Fulfilled" is an... erm... homage... to put it kindly, to the welsh quintet's early years.

Whereas FFAF have since moved on from the kids they once were, Depth have not. In fact, just look at one of their promo pictures; it's just so 2005! From their fringe-orientated Matt-Davies-in-the-video-for-"Streetcar" haircuts, to their whiny, pseudo-emotional vocals, punch-less screams, down to their metallic guitar-work and their 'ideas', or lack thereof - it's just so 2005! The riffage is weak, unoriginal, and uninspired, like watered down rip-offs of Darran Smith and Kris Coombs-Roberts, the vocals rarely sound in tune, the screams and breakdowns punctuating songs like "Burning Pages" are poor and heard all before, and I'm struggling to find anything indicative of an original idea anywhere. The complete lack of anything creative here wouldn't matter if Depth at least had an attitude, a swagger about them, but they don't. It's like Depth are trying to recreate "Hours", with an end result that makes them sound like a poor cover band.

I'm not trying to condemn a young band here. Honestly, I'm not. The musicians obviously know their way around their instruments, the lyrics aren't completely hopeless, and the vocals, with lessons, could one day become decent. Closer "Carcrash Conscience" has a pretty sweet, almost post-rockish middle-section which will perk some interest if you manage to make it to the end of the album, but ultimately, I literally cannot fathom why anyone would listen to "Situations Fulfilled". What they're trying to do has been achieved before, a lot, and so much better than what's on offer here. Are they trying to bring it back? Guys, the music scene has since moved on, maybe it's time you did too.

Download: Carcrash Conscience
For The Fans of: Funeral for a Friend, Chiodos, Story of the Year, We Are The Ocean
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 06.06.2011
Rising Records

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