Fletcher – My Revenge

By paul

I shall say this only once so listen up – ‘My Revenge’ is quite possibly the best record I have heard all year. I could spend all day gushing with superlatives about how the Kingston crew have put out not just one of the best UK releases – but best releases, period – this year, but it would merely waste time that you could have spent actually enjoying it yourself. Ever since Fletcher released ‘Six Track Sound’ I’ve been smitten with their raw Face To Face pop-punk stylings but ‘My Revenge’, their debut full lengther, takes things up a notch further. Things aren’t quite as catchy or anthemic, instead they grow and grow and grow, burrowing under your brow and taking root firmly in your head. There are songs that won’t accept anything less than surrender – this is a record that dispells any myth that the Americans do it better.

Fletcher have elements of Alkaline Trio in their sound without actually sounding anything like them. Chris and Lee both have ‘throaty’ vocals which do some across like the Matt and Dan crossover in Alk3 and the guitars often bear similarities. The lyrics, while dark, certainly aren’t as vivid as Matt Skiba’s but despite this ‘My Revenge’ actually pisses over ‘Good Mourning’ from a great height. In my book it’s also better than any of the recent face To Face stuff – now there’s something for you to bitch about!

Starting with the awesome ‘Throwaway’, Fletcher launch into what will will become their trademark over the next 35 minutes – sub three-minute pop songs with a dynamic edge. There are hooks that will land whales and vocal harmonies as sweet as any you’ll hear this year. Lee gets all vicious with the aggressive yet catchy ‘Least Resistant’, a track which could actually be the worst on the record yet is still far superior to many tracks on allegedly bigger name bands’ albums. ‘So Long’ and ‘Crooked Smile’ would both fit snugly onto the EP such is their instanteous hit, while ‘Half Empty Rooms’ is possibly even more anthemic with a chorus surely made for fans to singalong to.

The riff to ‘Where Would You Run’ backs up my claim in the Alk3 similarity stakes but as soon as the vocals begin you know this is 100% Fletcher. And just when you couldn’t possibly believe a chorus could possibly become any catchier they out-do themselves with another belter. ‘Say Something, Anything’ is genius while ‘Ignored’ is just a no frills pop-punk song with more balls than a bull running at a red flag. The album’s title-track is brilliant lyrically as well as musically, while ‘In Heart and Mind Forever’, the original name of the album, is even more thought-provoking and considered. Not even the closing ‘Something Stronger’ is a letdown. In short ‘My Revenge’ is a record that oozes class – it’s 35 minutes of pop-punk perfection with classy choruses and riffs to die for. There are bands that have sold hundreds of thousands of records and they’re not even fit to wipe Fletcher‘s arse.

You can always tell I love a record to bits when I actually go out and buy it rather than settle for the promo. Despite having had ‘My Revenge’ on CD-R for about two months now I can’t wait to get my hands on the real thing. It’s a brilliant album by a brilliant band and rightly marks Fletcher among the UK’s elite.

www.fletcherpunkrock.com

Paul

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USA Nails – ‘FEEL WORSE’