Bones UK
Soft
It’s kind of baffling how Bones UK, of all bands, have a GRAMMY nod. Well, maybe not in proper context; it’s just another early accolade to chuck on the pile of soundtrack appearances and celebrity fans that came before they’d even had a full album. A self-titled debut five years ago that was good but short-lived really only contributes to the befuddlement. Maybe as a more agreeable form of industrial rock, the commercially-minded Powers That Be have found more to spin out, with the next idea to move Bones UK closer to the safer centre. To that end, there’s Soft—the coats of darker paint remain, now on a creakier take on power-duo fare, and a idea of sexy that’s been heavily revising Queens Of The Stone Age’s notes.
Above all, Soft stands to prove how Bones UK’s string of successes doesn’t correlate exactly with their output. For an album framed by its would-be juggernaut creators, that makes it seem all the more brittle and limp. Bikinis and Me, in their attempted appropriation of riff-rock’s deliberate groove, feel about ready to shatter within their own lockstep. Elsewhere, lower gears and excessive negative space leave songs like Perfectly Imperfect and Us to trundle in maudlin form, rather than pick up much atmosphere. Despite a cool sound font overall, Soft can be a little too inconsistent with how its used to leave a mark. The quasi-industrial leans can almost feel too quasi; even a song like Teeth and the ambition it has to be more carnal and pulse-pounding is subject to rounder edges and a bite that doesn’t clamp down as hard as it could.
Even if the title isn’t necessarily accurate—there’s still a competent amount of edge in how Bones UK carry themselves—it’s probably not as tongue-in-cheek as intended. The classic rock fire simmers rather than roars, producing Soft’s best qualities and the space that’s still needed to be filled simultaneously. You can see where an album like this goes in an ideal form, in the QOTSA / Nine Inch Nails cross-section where it ultimately belongs. If nothing else, it’d fit Rosie Bones as a frontwoman, with the crags in her whiskey voice that embody seduction, danger and, on the disco-esque throbs of Won’t Settle, liberation. There’s a powerful presence at the heart of Bones UK, tamped down by the general impotence of Soft. At least the coolest stuff seems generally unaffected, even if that amounts most to shreds of ideas and individual creative threads.
It’s a shame, because there’s plainly something here. Bones UK never give off the impression of an act who’d kowtow without any resistance, such is why Soft continues to have their previous magic bubbling away beneath the surface. But as true as that is, it’s all a little safer, blander and more boxed in than they’d want or need. Or perhaps this is Bones UK fast-tracking the life of rock superstars that currently follows them, where they can afford to rest on the fame and adulation they’ve already acquired. Even if that’s a little extreme of a conclusion, there are points on Soft that won’t entirely dissuade.
For fans of: Queens Of The Stone Age, Royal Blood, The Black Keys
‘Soft’ by Bones UK is released on 13th September on Sumerian Records.
House Of Protection
Galore
Well, this sounds a little Fishy. As in, Jordan Fish is behind the production on this thing. That’s been the story floating the closest around House Of Protection, though the fact that it’s a new endeavour from ex-Fever 333 fellas Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta implies a bit of a zinger in its own right. Even so, there’s no doubting what more the extra pair of hands courtesy of Bring Me The Horizon’s former star-maker can achieve. Oft-imitated but never surpassed, Fish’s influence just has to mean something here, right? Considering he was a crucial component in the one of the biggest bands in the world, you’d presume so.
The thing is, too, you can almost hear how Galore would’ve turned out if it were yet another job at copying the sound without the dynamism. As an act, House Of Protection aren’t that different from other post-hardcore acts frogmarching out a set of gnashers to stand among their cleanliness. Pulling Teeth and Learn To Forget are both proponents of quantised, buzzsaw guitars against a polished alt-rock palette, as the recognised shorthand for sounding pointed and gritty. The difference, then, comes in the spaces around all of that. Unlike plenty others, that isn’t all that Galore is capable of showing off; turn your attention to the electro-rock curb stomp of Fuse, or the breakbeat percussion that slices through how otherwise airy and poppy Being One is. See what difference it makes to have someone behind the scenes to practice in variety, rather than the same nondescript whitewash that metalcore treats as standard?
Of course, while Fish is no doubt imperative is straightening the lines, Harrison and Improta are the ones putting the raw materials into place. The latter especially needs to be highlighted here, who’s always been a phenomenal drummer that’s elevated every project he’s been a part of, and House Of Protection is no exception. There’s that element of ‘68-esque noise-rock quasi-control to Pulling Teeth and It’s Supposed To Hurt, where just a tether snap or two is all it’d take for some more labile-than-average drumming to go fully unhinged. Vocal duties are shared by the pair, likely to reinforce the spontaneity that feels so important to House Of Protection’s quintessence. Where bands like this will often parade their ‘danger’ and feel the furthest thing from it (or, even worse, try to force it and fail to be convincing), at least House Of Protection seem to be sticking their neck out a bit. At least they’re not clueless.
Now, you could nitpick and question what exactly the ‘creative differences’ were that caused their departure from Fever 333 when House Of Protection isn’t a massive departure. In the way that that band can fit within current punk and post-hardcore while still keeping their fire more fiercely alight, House Of Protection hit on much of the same. But just as easily as those points can be brought up, they can be brushed aside. You’re not complaining about an outfit who, on their debut EP, are closer to breathing down the neck of their scene leaders than plenty others. On the same token, a vehicle for one of alternative music’s most gifted producers to make his return is gold dust on its own. For what’s on offer already, this is way more than just another spin-off project; that kind of goes without saying.
For fans of: Fever 333, Bring Me The Horizon, Poppy
‘Galore’ by House Of Protection is released on 13th September on Red Bull Records.
Silly Goose
Bad Behavior
In the proud yet sporadic tradition of bands performing in fast food restaurants à la Live Without’s now-legendary Denny’s show, Silly Goose have become best known for their guerilla gigger reputation. McDonald’s and Subway are just the start, though; they’re also liable to rock up in the car parks of US shows and festivals and set up shop there. With such a pull-up-your-bootstraps mentality behind it, it’s no wonder the Americans have gotten onboard. Even in avenues you might not expect, Silly Goose always appear to land on their feet (see their biggest bit of lore about festival bigwig Danny Wimmer coming to shut down their impromptu Inkarceration appearance in 2022, and winding up so impressed that he added them to the lineup). Ronnie Radke also likes them, apparently, but don’t let that put you off—they are actually alright.
Not much more than that, though; Silly Goose are a band who don’t quite have it all together just yet. For instance, going into big, slow, ponderous metalcore choruses on King Of The Hill and Everything Is Over Now doesn’t suit them, not with the specific creative axis they’re on. Considering frontman Jackson Foster could legally change his name to ‘Fred Durst Jr’ with only mild surprise (maybe), deferring from a blatant Limp Bizkit impression isn’t the most helpful. If anything, the bigger the bite of the Bizkit they take, the better that Silly Goose are. Going back to Foster, he’s bucked the current standard of the self-serious rap-metal tough guy, instead opting for the classic approach of simply being a cartoon character. Thus, you not only get a notably Durstian voice and posture, but also the feel of lunkheaded unseriousness strewn all over. If the EP’s opening thesis of “Fuck you if you’re offended” had been orated by the aforementioned Mr Radke, it would’ve been the most cringe shit ever; in truth, when its direct follow-up is a song with more than its daily dose of SpongeBob references, it’s easier to brush off.
On the whole, there’s the feel of Silly Goose running as fast and as far as they can with history’s retroactive love and canonising of Limp Bizkit. Anything additional is either treated optionally, or a less-than-amazing frill distracting from the better stuff. It’d probably be more objectionable if they weren’t good at it. At their most concentrated, like on Tsunami or Live It Up, they frankly nail all the chest-puffing, meat-brained swagger with consummate ease. Guitars are fittingly burly and coursing with low-end groove and testosterone; the rhythm section is effectively the same. It’s as good as Silly Goose get, honestly, to where they might even show themselves up with their stuffed-in cues to hardcore and metalcore. They aren’t the sort of band for whom stretching their legs feels that necessary, evidenced by how they just aren’t the best at it. Maybe that’s painting them into a corner, but on the basis of a five-song EP and where their by-far best impulses lie, paint away.
There’s also a couple more nitpicks, like how some patches of production are a little flat, but the whole purpose of Silly Goose appears to be steamrolling through any such qualms anyway. They’re a band for whom character and their ever-continuing saga of showing up in places in way, way more important. Inside that will crystallise some fun moments, upon which the myth-making with be buoyed even further, and the profile inevitably raised. In essence, then, you’re looking at an act for whom critique is functionally immaterial, because it’s not like the Silly Goose enterprise is slowing down for it. This is a band making their own way and dropping out a handful of straightforward hits in the process, and that’s all perfectly fine. If you’re overly disappointed by any of this…well, the band’s called Silly Goose; that’s kind of on you.
For fans of: Limp Bizkit, UnityTX, Rage Against The Machine
‘Bad Behavior’ by Silly Goose is released on 13th September on Blue Grape Music.
Words by Luke Nuttall
