Ragweed
Ragweed describe themselves as ‘the answer to the question no one wanted to ask’, which sounds pretty intriguing to me! Add to this their name, drawn from a stubborn, raw and irritating plant, and Ragweed seem to be underselling themselves before we’ve even gotten going. Either way, the band recently got in touch about their latest EP to see what we thought, going on to say that they ‘create a filthy, ear ringing, uncensored breed of pop that, from reasons you can’t explain, you love deep down’. At this point, I figured enough was enough and I should just check out the music for myself!
Opening with Mind Bottling we’re immediately thrown into a distorted melee of screaming vocals, hammering guitar lines, pounding bass rhythms and heavy drums, the mix forming something the band term ‘cretin rock’, but something I’d put more around the post-punk approach with some hardcore tendencies thrown into the mix. Hard hitting and distorted throughout, the band have produced one hell of a track to get things going, managing to make it damned heavy whilst also adding in a sense of melody and keeping the sound moving throughout, each turn presenting a different sound and keeping you on your toes. Habit continues this approach and continues the EP on its merry, distorted journey. More catchy this time around, there’s something about this track which you can well imagine singing along to on the live front, somehow breaking apart the raw and heavy front lines of the track and revealing a serious sense of melody tucked away behind the mix.
New Tricks marks another slight change in the progression of the EP, this time throwing down into a much more rock n roll orientated track which is going to get people moving, pits forming and venues crumbling. The power of this track is once again underpinned by a sense of melody and power, once again showing that whilst at first listen this might appear to be heavy, it’s actually carefully crafted and well put together throughout. Personally, this is one of my favourite tracks from the EP, it’s the sort of thing I can imagine jumping around like a butter to and thoroughly enjoying the vibe flowing out of the band.
Closing with Fat Collapse the bass gets a solo spot to opening the final moments of the EP, showing that there’s an unmistakeable sense of funky power going on behind the mix here, something which sets these guys apart from the usual post punk ‘cretin’ rock scene (assuming there’s a cretin rock scene of course’). The final moments on this EP are amongst the heaviest of the EP as a whole, but once again demonstrate the bands ability to craft tracks which are hard hitting, melodic and powerful without following convention or the lead of any others. It’s this unique ability to craft tracks which will stand these guys in good stead moving forwards from here, setting Ragweed up as a band to keep an eye out for.
Personally, I really quite like Ragweed and the sound they’ve come up with, and I think that’s largely down to them not following conventions and simply carving out their own sound. The EP they’ve produced is raw, rough and ready, showing off a band who can play rather than a producer and studio, and showing that what you see is what you get. Personally, I’ll be interested to see what comes next from these guys as I think it’s going to be one hell of an exciting journey!
To find out more about Ragweed, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Mind Bottling we’re immediately thrown into a distorted melee of screaming vocals, hammering guitar lines, pounding bass rhythms and heavy drums, the mix forming something the band term ‘cretin rock’, but something I’d put more around the post-punk approach with some hardcore tendencies thrown into the mix. Hard hitting and distorted throughout, the band have produced one hell of a track to get things going, managing to make it damned heavy whilst also adding in a sense of melody and keeping the sound moving throughout, each turn presenting a different sound and keeping you on your toes. Habit continues this approach and continues the EP on its merry, distorted journey. More catchy this time around, there’s something about this track which you can well imagine singing along to on the live front, somehow breaking apart the raw and heavy front lines of the track and revealing a serious sense of melody tucked away behind the mix.
New Tricks marks another slight change in the progression of the EP, this time throwing down into a much more rock n roll orientated track which is going to get people moving, pits forming and venues crumbling. The power of this track is once again underpinned by a sense of melody and power, once again showing that whilst at first listen this might appear to be heavy, it’s actually carefully crafted and well put together throughout. Personally, this is one of my favourite tracks from the EP, it’s the sort of thing I can imagine jumping around like a butter to and thoroughly enjoying the vibe flowing out of the band.
Closing with Fat Collapse the bass gets a solo spot to opening the final moments of the EP, showing that there’s an unmistakeable sense of funky power going on behind the mix here, something which sets these guys apart from the usual post punk ‘cretin’ rock scene (assuming there’s a cretin rock scene of course’). The final moments on this EP are amongst the heaviest of the EP as a whole, but once again demonstrate the bands ability to craft tracks which are hard hitting, melodic and powerful without following convention or the lead of any others. It’s this unique ability to craft tracks which will stand these guys in good stead moving forwards from here, setting Ragweed up as a band to keep an eye out for.
Personally, I really quite like Ragweed and the sound they’ve come up with, and I think that’s largely down to them not following conventions and simply carving out their own sound. The EP they’ve produced is raw, rough and ready, showing off a band who can play rather than a producer and studio, and showing that what you see is what you get. Personally, I’ll be interested to see what comes next from these guys as I think it’s going to be one hell of an exciting journey!
To find out more about Ragweed, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls