Russell HughesFine Creatures – Electric La La Land (XVII Music)
Genre: Brit Rock
Electric La La Land was supposed to be the introduction of Fine Creatures as the dirty Beatles, joked lead singer James Hall. Exactly what that would sound like is anyone’s guess, but if Hall means a kinda catchy, kinda grungy, kinda addictive pop sound then he’s near the mark.
EP opener Money is a hallmark of the type of sound that dominates the rest of the record. The song is full of a Nirvana-type guitar riff and a building, crashing chorus that has the whole tune ebbing and flowing through a two-and-a-half minutes that would be raucous to experience live.
The beauty about this six track teaser is that Fine Creatures rarely let the pace die down, their principles to that dirty Beatle sound fade away or those bits that just manage to hook into you take a breather.
Get Up is a brilliant example of this and has Hall pounding out the rhythm. There isn’t much flash about how the songs are put together, but who needs flash when you’ve got Electric La La Land? The track itself maybe relies a little too much on the chorus, but when you’ve got something good you’re not going to cut off your nose to spite your face are you?
But the band can change things up and mix things around. Panthers is a good example of this as the tempo is reduced a few notches in favour of something that takes its time. This is the slow cooked chili con carne to a medium rare steak. Both are delicious, both have their place.
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Dan Austin, who has worked with bands such as SLØTFACE and Mallory Knox, helped to engineer this EP. With talent like that, it’s not a surprise that Electric La La Land has come out as catchy as it has.
Fine Creatures have set the bar high, and that’s almost certainly a good thing. They pack a punch and they have the skill to vary their game.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 7/10 No airy fairy stuff, this.