Tuesday 3 April 2018

EP: The New 52 - Green

The New 52 - Green


Info: Dublin rock quartet The New 52 released their latest EP Green last weekend, a collection of five tracks that has mass appeal to fans of no frills, genre-loyal rock music. Opening with the pounding crunch of 'Accidents & Emergencies' it swoops you up and throws you about the place, jumping from rock riffs and intense percussion to a pop-rock chorus recalling The Vines' 'Get Free'. 'We'll Always Have Paris' sees frontman Darragh Cullen deliver a late 90's early 00's pop-rock vocal with an ever so slight hint of Tom Petty bravura. 

On 'Controlling the Night' the four-piece cast the net further backwards with their sound, there's an 80's glam-rock glimmer to the guitar and vocals, I feel like I've seen this on BBC4 at 3am, and it's a very gratifying sound. But behold, there are musical mercenaries in the camp, dropping the funky wah-wah in at 2:45 and a subsequent rock blowout is a well judged stroke, if I saw them live I'd love to hear that jam go on for a good while.

Closer 'Is There Revolution?' has you hanging on for the drums to kick in, The New 52 keep those rock riffs simple yet entirely on point, and at 2:45 they kill it, textbook anthem rock designed to ratchet the music slowly up your spine. Again, hello wah-wah, goodbye mama. It's funny in a way, because by sticking to the rock handbook diligently, The New 52 have made themselves a bit niche in 2018. A lot of people will get it, love it, and a lot of people will be entering new territory. I'm in the former, I'd love to hear future releases with longer solos and everything louder again, I have a taste for it now.


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