Since the release of their first album, God Damn have put out a split 10” with Nottingham mates Heck, appeared at Reading and Leeds festivals and supported the mighty Foo Fighters. Thom and Ash haven’t done too bad for a couple of lads from the Black Country.
Coming in the form of a three-and-a-half-minute banger, the album’s first single ‘Sing This’, is unquestionably the duo’s greatest pop-rock hit to date. That ‘pop’ part, is as minimal as you probably imagined. Mounds of fuzzy pedal board action and its glaring roots in punk make sure the edge is never too far away.
“It bites and it bites it and breaks my mind!” is snarled with attitude that is so often overlooked. ‘It Bites’ sees a beautifully nasty vocal effect that gives Thom’s screams an added layer of gristle. The boys go all in on the dirty flavour on this one. Inexplicably far from the gentle melody enforced on ‘Easily Mislead’, ‘It Bites’ is heinously heavy.
Ever heard Drenge’s ‘Never Awake’? God Damn defiantly have, or maybe they defiantly haven’t? Whichever way you look at it, second track ‘Ghost’ takes vibes from the fellow duo’s 2015 track. Far from a carbon copy, but once the similarities are heard they’re impossible to separate. Both brilliant songs but at times one in the same.
Long-time fans will be pleased to find out that God Damn haven’t gone all experimental on us, at least no more so than usual. Instead of going out on a limb in search of a new sound they’ve put their winning formula on steroids.
LEWIS TROTT