Initially a gentle melody, some softly plucked guitar strings and a harmonious duet of male and female vocals makes opening track ‘Wat’cha Gonna Do?’ out to be a soothingly restful offering. It’s not! 20 seconds later there’s a thunder roll of drums and a plethora of crashing guitars as the song erupts into what becomes the trademark sound of the this three-tracker, a hybrid that’s noisy/quiet and calm/chaotic. It’s a duality that really works well.
Quickly some things you need to know: Don Broco hails from Bedford, used to be called Club Sex, and will throw absolutely any type of music into the blender. It’ll be ground up and spit back out in the form of a four minute energetic onslaught. First example: the aforementioned opening track which in a way takes its grounding in metalcore, only serving it up with a massively poppy ‘wey-ho’ chorus, some melodic indie-rock vocals and topping it off with big shout alongs. It’s hardcore meets pop-punk, I guess. Add to this some frequently changing guitar pacing and those oh so gorgeous female vocals and you’re somewhere closer to understanding the organised hotchpotch that is this song.
The title track leads in with some nu-metalish guitars before manically rampaging vocals take over and flirt with the ever changing soundscape. One minute it’s faster than a Tokyo bullet train, the next it’s verging on being a slow rock ballad. There’s even a sense of System of a Down about this one. Sound mad? It is.
Closing track ‘Danny Boy’ lets the big bass grooves do the talking. They’re nestled among some serious rock/metal riffs, a slew of techy guitars, booming vocals and an outro that features record-scratching, a dose of distortion and an unexpected sense of melancholy. All the fun of the fair then.
Rambunctiously fun, overly hyper and blazingly assorted, ‘Thug Workout’ deserves to be the first stepping stones on the path to bigger things for Don Broco.
Alex