Midwich Cuckoos

We Are Everywhere

Written by: MAK on 13/02/2018 18:12:39

Who remembers when AFI was more of a skate punk band on early releases before their gothic rock shtick took full effect? Well, If you were ever a fan of that era of the Davey Havok fronted band then Midwich Cuckoos might well be your jam. This seven-member monster of a band considers itself an explosive, rock’n’roll, punk and metal experiment put together by friends from around the world. The origins of Midwich Cuckoos are as intriguing as their theatrical, collaborative approach to the project. What started out as a handful of songs written from one friend to another soon became a thoroughly 21st century, unpredictable, international punk-rock clusterfuck. Leaving the creative process open for people to put their own stamp on his songs, this low-pressure approach drew collaborations from as far afield as Italy, Brazil and beyond - the more elements that people added to the songs, the more dynamic and unique they became. The international punk collective is now pleased to announce their debut album, “We Are Everywhere”.

Musically, Midwich cuckoos provide a blast of the mid-90s to early 00s melodic skate punk, a sound that was perfected by bands such as AFI and The Offspring at the time. In fact, for the most part of this release, the band sound like a direct mashup of the two, combining infectious crunchy riffs that make you think, “is this from Smash?”, chunky basslines and some tuneful screamy shouty vocals that sound almost identical to Davey Havok. It’s not until the third track, “Russian Doll” you pick up that it’s a female vocalist. Valentina Visintin, has that same distinctive gruff, raspy approach to her shouts, that when her clean singing comes into the fold you are slightly taken aback. The majority of this album is a high octane wave of punk anthems, laced with punchy as hell hooks and catchy melodies just itching to drag you in right from the start, on “Adios Mein Frere”. The name itself is translated as “Goodbye My Brother” in Spanish, German and French; a clever way to show the different nationalities involved in this project.

Tracks such as “Crown” and “Blue Fingernail” feel like they were taken straight from AFI album, “The Art of Drowning” fronted by angst-ridden attitude and relentless energy, topped off by a very similar distorted riff tone. “Oh Rats” however comes in like “Bad Habit” by The Offspring; the stand out vocals in the intro and the stuttered riff pattern is a pure reminder to "Smash" classic. However, the chorus is more like a stadium rock hit written by the likes of Black Stone Cherry, it’s got the kind of hook that is designed for inviting massive crowds to sing along, even if the rest of the song is outright manufactured to cause pit carnage. It’s a showcasing of the big metal band influence that band mention before, along with the mind-blowing guitar solo right before the bridge. “Got Got Need” is perhaps my favourite track as it unleashes the fun, high energy punk rock with some aggressive hardcore influences; delivering big fist pump segments and impeccable fiddly melodies behind the fuzzy fretwork.

“We Are Everywhere” is a very enjoyable punk rock album that throws in influences from stadium rock and metal to give it some extra oomph and something different, without the variety, it might not have been as captivating as a whole album. The catchy hooks are what make this release so attention-grabbing, then does the nostalgia value of the aforementioned influences. It’s a good album now, but this would have thrived 20 years ago and would have been a generation game changer. It's a nice throwback.

Download: Russian Doll,Got Got Need, Blue Fingernails
For The Fans Of: AFI, The Offspring, The Unseen
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 23.02.2018
Onslaught Music


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