REVIEW ROUND-UP: Daytime TV, Home Counties, Oakman, Diamond Construct

Daytime TV

Island.

Daytime TV probably should’ve been around about five to 10 years ago. Well, okay, they were as Hunter & The Bear, but at a level where it seemed as though they were making moves. They’d probably have had a firmer hold back then as opposed to now, far out of time where their greatest achievements are support slots with some of indie’s most inoffensive names. When you release an album like nothing’s on but everyone’s watching in 2022—an assortment of indie touchstones done okay-ish that never properly settled—that destiny is preordained. So now, Island. is the customary reinvention. You see, hard black and red artwork equals edgy and angsty…or, at least, as much of that as a slightly different alt-rock and indie pick ‘n’ mix allows for.

At least it’s a bit better overall, though, as a concentrated package of five tracks to sharpen up the already essentialised hooks. There’s also the matter of that newfound edge, manifested through more synths and riff-rock tones, as if you couldn’t have predicted that from context clues alone. Yeah, Daytime TV are still far away from anything even in the vicinity of ‘original’, though they generally seem comfortable with what they have now. Lost In Tokyo is the highlight thanks to a pounding synth grind that’s not unlike Daft Punk in patches, to firm up what’s a groovy little indie track in its own right. There’s also an inescapable influx of hookiness to Fear and Waves, unsurprising for a band who’ve laser-crafted their own existence to reach that outcome.

In truth, there isn’t too much that’s different about Island., and certainly nothing to nudge any boundaries. Anything as such needs to be qualified with “by Daytime TV’s standards”, a waterline that conveniently sidelines how So Sick would’ve been the student union smash of 2017 (i.e. it sound basically identical to every Hunna and Hunna-lite of the time), and how Block Out The Noise is another stiff-as-a-board lockstep indie clunker. At the same time, it’s all a bit less irritating, too, by virtue of there being less of it here. At least, for as generic as Daytime TV can seem, they know to rein it in a bit and keep things consumable. It makes them look better as a result, to where Island. still might not be anything special but it’s an easy enough listen.

Look, it’s hard to muster excitement about something like this, where its top qualities are being functionally fine without anything to get into a spin about. It’s like actual daytime TV in a way—sufficient background noise until everything starts repeating itself. To be as kind as possible, it’s not like Island. is going to scupper any trajectories to mid-afternoon slots at TRSMT or Isle Of Wight, for what that’s worth. You’d like to hope that Daytime TV might want to aim a bit higher, but if that suits them, live and let live, eh?

For fans of: The Hunna, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Two Door Cinema Club

‘Island.’ by Daytime TV is released on 3rd May on DTV Records.

---

Home Counties

Exactly As It Seems

As post-punk goes on to devour itself, it’s a wonder that so many acts seem comfortable with letting themselves get gobbled up. Maybe it’s resignation that taking a spot next to IDLES or Fontaines D.C. is harder than it looked; maybe the initial kickstart was weaker than previously thought. But then there’s Home Counties, the Sports Team knockoff (albeit a fairly solid one) who are apparently the only one of these to grasp ‘survival of the fittest’. To take a scene as dead-set in its ways as this and go full electro-pop within it might as well be the equivalent to performing cold fusion, though the existence of Blondie or Devo mean it’s hardly an unprecedented move. Still, better to embody them than another copy of a copy that’s just as susceptible to losing all scant momentum in a bottleneck. If Home Counties get anywhere with Exactly As They Seems, that’ll be the chief reason.

They’re effectively sidelining post-punk entirely, from a stylistic point of view. No one else around them is going that far, though Home Counties are careful enough to maintain the Britishness and post-punk pessimism as stable benchmarks. Maybe it’s not a coincidence when the first line of the title track is the same as Slipknot’s Psychosocial, then, as Exactly As It Seems finds itself going over the fatigue of British…everything to keep that furrow ploughed nice and deep. At least there’s the winking and liability to crack a smile within it that’s often likable, whether it’s the knowingly tinseled Main Character Syndrome on a bad night out on Uptight, or outright decrying having kids as an inescapable money-sink on Cradle, Coffin. Both Will Harrison and Lois Kelly deliver it with immaculate archetypal correctness; both sound like the exact sort of people who’d proudly act and think that way, though the fact that’s just what post-punk is now makes the customary twinge of insufferability easier to swallow.

Besides, at least the shift in sound means they can sound somewhat fun amongst it all. That’s another benefit to subducting the post-punk norms in such a blatant way, as Home Counties leave plenty of space free for obscenely taut rhythm sections and all manner of sputtering, whirring synth effects. It says something to where even the curtain of irony that pulled over by an unspecified amount doesn’t preclude how enjoyable this can be. You could absolutely chalk up the bossa nova of Wild Guess to deliberate chintz, until the drum ‘n’ bass percussion and bubbles of effects give away how much effort was actually put in. On the flipside, it’s hard not to imagine Push Comes To Shove as the theme tune to some forgotten BBC sitcom from the ‘80s; it’s probably set in a rural community with David Jason in a flatcap. But on average, Exactly As It Seems sticks a fairly graceful landing. The inherent tightness and unshakable earworm quality of Uptight or Funk U Up or Dividing Lines makes that apparent.

If nothing else, there’s more to be said for Home Counties on here than the umpteenth iteration of post-punk’s identikit. Believe it or not, when you aren’t shackled to a style already crushed between the twin pillars of an increasingly narrowed sound and an influx of adopters, you can do more—what a revelation! In any case, Exactly As It Seems could see Home Counties stick around with no issue. It’s a much-needed spritz of energy to the genre, not a total revitalisation but the kind of thing you’d hope a newer band would latch onto regardless. For Home Counties, then, it’s a good start to hopefully plenty more to come.

For fans of: Devo, LCD Soundsystem, Sports Team

‘Exactly As It Seems’ by Home Counties is released on 3rd May on Submarine Cat Records.

---

Oakman

Violent Oblivion

In the grand tradition of pop-punk bands jumping ship when something more popular and lucrative comes around, here are Oakman with their debut full-length. Okay, to be fair, they were really only pop-punk for their Waterscape EP in 2016, and they are a lot better now. This isn’t the dark ages of alt-pop anymore where everyone was just a chip off the same homogenised, synthy block; there’s actual creativity to be found now. Or, at least, something more vibrant and entertaining, which Violent Oblivion handily brings to bear.

What’s especially good is the understanding that’s clearly at the root of this album. Where most will refuse to engage beyond the style of ‘80s snythpop and the flattest possible components therein, Oakman know where the deeper appeal to it lies. It’s not just the sound at face value; you’ve got to have fun with it, too. Such is Spiral, a wonderful early highlight thanks to the glitter-bursts of synth and aerated, freewheeling adventurousness of just living. On the complete other end of the spectrum, Curse roils with pounding darkwave determination, though still operates cleanly in the loop of Oakman. It’s the benefit of being able to engage with your style like this—you aren’t hemmed in, and the urge to explore isn’t dampened. That isn’t to say the tart acoustics of A Letter To Them or the gauzy snoozer of a title track are good, but the better stuff now has a chance to rise above them as the most memorable cuts.

If more of the sound had been like this from the start—just cognisant of the ideas and pathways potentially open for them—it’d likely be looked upon more fondly. It’s not even like Oakman are that different; again, it’s just enough to notice. Marine Lanzillotta basically has the same voice as the other tight-registered women in the scene, though with a bit more (fittingly French) je ne sais quoi in the kick of her voice. When Proper Attitude struts along playfully as she iterates how she’s feeling “terrifique”, it’s a lovely little moment of personality that simply isn’t replicable if you don’t already have it. It all contributes to the freshness of Oakman overall, obviously their killer app that Violent Oblivion isn’t comfortable with wasting.

Maybe it’s not exactly ‘special’ in the strongest of terms, but to hear all the glossier-than-glossy production and blatant ‘80s worship (just listen to Missed Connections; it’s synthwave by any other name) without feeling hideously encumbered by burnout is an achievement in itself. It actually pulls off the slickness and sharpness as intended, a true rarity these days. And although they might have missed the boat on becoming world-conqueringly huge, it’d be nice to see some kind of boost for Oakman off of this. It’s good enough to deserve it, which is more than can be said for plenty of similar fare.

For fans of: CHVRCHES, MUNA, Maisie Peters

‘Violent Oblivion’ by Oakman is released on 3rd May on Rude Records.

---

Diamond Construct

Angel Killer Zero

Ready for the worst first impression of a metalcore album you’ve ever had? No, not the ‘my first anime’ artwork, but the fact that the bass on opener Hashira is so loud and distorted that the song actively caves in on itself during the breakdown. It’s reminiscent of lawless 2010s SoundCloud-rap in a way, which is an era that really didn’t need recontextualising into nu-metalcore, and have every limitation of the brew on full display. For whatever alleged niche that Diamond Construct are filling there, perhaps it wasn’t too worth it after all.

Granted, ‘niche’ is a term used fairly liberally in this situation. Peel it all back to its essence, and Angel Killer Zero reveals exactly where its inspiration (or lack thereof) lies. Hell, the album’s first uttered line is “Shut the fuck up, cunt”, as if someone said “Fronzak” three times into a mirror and he’s shown up unwanted as ever. At least Kynan Groundwater is far less detestable than Attila’s ringleader, but that’s not exactly beating the odds, is it? And even then, he still largely flicks between the default settings of edgy ‘menace’ like on Switchblade OST, and a passable but anonymous scream most everywhere else. It says a lot when his most noteworthy moment comes on Jynx, with a faster delivery at one point that sounds like he wrote too many words in the one line and is struggling to catch up.

It’s kind of a wild decision for Diamond Construct to open themselves up to more critiques of sloppiness, given how the album can sound. It doesn’t always sound like that, either, which implies that all-engulfing, headphone-frying bass tones were a conscious choice for certain spots, which may be among one of the most moronic decisions made in the genre in a while. No one of sound mind can believe it sounds good when I Don’t peaks the mix and shreds everything in the vicinity to ribbons. It isn’t in service of anything, other than turning off-the-shelf nu-metalcore into something markedly worse. Sure, the worst of it is pretty segregated, but that doesn’t stop its influence cropping up elsewhere, to where the threat of a total headache always seems looming.

It’s probably overstating things to say that’s a shame; Diamond Construct aren’t that great, even in their best form. At least a stock genre template can be turned into something, though. Angel Killer Zero precludes any chance of that, painting itself into as many corners as it can through no adequately explained reasoning. This doesn’t feel fresh and exciting as much as obnoxiously gallumphing, the kind of hairbrained thought you’d maybe try, realise there’s no future in it, and ice it then and there. Clearly that’s too merciful an act for Diamond Construct; Angel Killer Zero would rather flatten the notions of what is and isn’t a good idea with a colossal thud.

For fans of: Emmure, Void Of Vision, Cane Hill

‘Angel Killer Zero’ by Diamond Construct is out now on Pale Chord / Grayscale Records.

---

Words by Luke Nuttall