What do you get if you cross a bunch of Welsh lads, a Funeral For A Friend CD and a batch of songs Hondo Maclean wish they could write? Shape of my Addiction, silly! The six-piece formed in 2003 and this six-tracker was the fruits of their labour last year. While SOMA appear unbelieveably talented – the song structures are tight and the guitarwork immaculate – this disc showcases their talent to be just the same as every other ruddy post-hardcore band around.
Remember when Funeral For A Friend released EPs and didn’t have the sheen of their album? SOMA do! Mixing melodies with harsh screaming, the band sadly rip off their Welsh counterparts and that’s a real shame, because songs like ‘Sunsets Never Suited You’ and ‘Bloodshed At The Discotheque’ are well performed and thought out. Indeed, if their contemporaries didn’t actually exist I’d be screaming this band’s name from the rooftops and proclaiming them as the next big thing. But sadly the world doesn’t need another copycat band that screams bloody murder and on this release that’s all SOMA do. If they can take their talents and forge their own sound on future releases, this band really will be something to look out for. Of course my opinion counts for nothing and if the band continue to peddle this generic twaddle they’ll sell a shitload of records anyway, after all, this is popular with the dyed black hair, floppy fringe brigade. But I’d like to think these guys can go away and come back with something really special.
To sum up in a really short way, Shape Of My Addiction are an excellent band, great technical musicians and have the potential to go far. But this EP is generic, heard-it-all-before FFAF/Hondo wannabe cack. Form your own ideas, become your own band and this post-hardcore world is all yours boyos…
www.shapeofmyaddiction.com
Paul