This Elegant Chaos
Formed out of a love for the major elements of rock music such as love, angst, desire and alcohol, and drawing on influence from the likes of Black Sabbath, My Chemical Romance, Adam Ant and Nirvana (yeah I’m interested too), I present to you This Elegant Chaos. Conceieved out of a drunken conversation before finally getting together for their first jam in July of 2010, the band have now released their new EP, Darkness Falls, and sent us through a copy to check out!
Opening with Black Mirror, there’s an immediate sense that this is a band who have taken a range of influences and crafted their own take on music, opening raw and powerful before breaking down and ushering in the vocals courtesy of Steph, adding in a melodic element over the raucous backing music and creating a mix which you can’t help but listen to. Throwing out catchy hooks and vocal lines which will leave you questioning why you’ve not heard these guys before, as an opener, this track does the band justice and immediately encourages you to listen to what else is on offer. Bleed Me Dry is up next, and once again throws a distorted riff out at you for your consideration. Adding in a taste of funk this time around, straight away this is the sort of thing which is going to get live crowds up and dancing, feeding off of the power of the band and their music. It’s striking how there can be so many elements combined into one track and yet there’s no confusion, it all works well and forms a track which stands out on the EP as one to make sure you check out.
Dive comes up next and almost seems to mark a slight change in the bands style, opening softer but still keeping the power oozing out of the track through the vocal lines. The guitars are almost faded into the background here to give more focus to the other elements, not allowing themselves to get carried away or go over the top, instead forming another track which is going to stand out when it’s played on the live scene. The combination of female vocals and hammering guitar lines work well to create a sound akin to the earlier days of grunge, yet with an updated feel to everything. This is a theme which is continued into Burn, once again opening hard and heavy before fading out to allow the vocals to penetrate fully, creating a sound which is once again funky, yet somehow restrained. Moving through the track, there’s different elements which are brought together throughout, moving from slow and relaxed to more frantic faster sections, all the time keeping things firmly under control and allowing the track to take form naturally, it’s a job well done!
Closing with Alive, you’re left with one firm thought in your mind – where can I get out to see these guys live? Once again throwing elements of grunge out at you before combining them with further elements of rock and metal, the track is one which once again stands out from the EP as a moment to hear. Working from section to section and once again managing to combine hard and soft throughout, this track closes the album and leaves you firmly wanting more, wanting to hear how they’re going to follow this and reaching for that rewind button to hear it all again.
This Elegant Chaos are one of those bands which 10 years ago could well have been huge, but at this point in time I’m not sure. Given the right exposure, they’ve got the potential to be a band which a lot of people want to hear and enjoy, they’ve just got to get out there and be seen. Sure, the time is now for a change in the world of music, and it could well be these guys who begin to usher it in – the key is going to be sticking to the tried and tested recipe which they seem to have created here!
To find out more about This Elegant Chaos, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Black Mirror, there’s an immediate sense that this is a band who have taken a range of influences and crafted their own take on music, opening raw and powerful before breaking down and ushering in the vocals courtesy of Steph, adding in a melodic element over the raucous backing music and creating a mix which you can’t help but listen to. Throwing out catchy hooks and vocal lines which will leave you questioning why you’ve not heard these guys before, as an opener, this track does the band justice and immediately encourages you to listen to what else is on offer. Bleed Me Dry is up next, and once again throws a distorted riff out at you for your consideration. Adding in a taste of funk this time around, straight away this is the sort of thing which is going to get live crowds up and dancing, feeding off of the power of the band and their music. It’s striking how there can be so many elements combined into one track and yet there’s no confusion, it all works well and forms a track which stands out on the EP as one to make sure you check out.
Dive comes up next and almost seems to mark a slight change in the bands style, opening softer but still keeping the power oozing out of the track through the vocal lines. The guitars are almost faded into the background here to give more focus to the other elements, not allowing themselves to get carried away or go over the top, instead forming another track which is going to stand out when it’s played on the live scene. The combination of female vocals and hammering guitar lines work well to create a sound akin to the earlier days of grunge, yet with an updated feel to everything. This is a theme which is continued into Burn, once again opening hard and heavy before fading out to allow the vocals to penetrate fully, creating a sound which is once again funky, yet somehow restrained. Moving through the track, there’s different elements which are brought together throughout, moving from slow and relaxed to more frantic faster sections, all the time keeping things firmly under control and allowing the track to take form naturally, it’s a job well done!
Closing with Alive, you’re left with one firm thought in your mind – where can I get out to see these guys live? Once again throwing elements of grunge out at you before combining them with further elements of rock and metal, the track is one which once again stands out from the EP as a moment to hear. Working from section to section and once again managing to combine hard and soft throughout, this track closes the album and leaves you firmly wanting more, wanting to hear how they’re going to follow this and reaching for that rewind button to hear it all again.
This Elegant Chaos are one of those bands which 10 years ago could well have been huge, but at this point in time I’m not sure. Given the right exposure, they’ve got the potential to be a band which a lot of people want to hear and enjoy, they’ve just got to get out there and be seen. Sure, the time is now for a change in the world of music, and it could well be these guys who begin to usher it in – the key is going to be sticking to the tried and tested recipe which they seem to have created here!
To find out more about This Elegant Chaos, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls