Muskets have built a name for themselves in the UK emo and grunge scene through playing shows and their first release, ‘Pollyseed’. ‘Spin’ is a great follow up to ‘Pollyseed’ for fans both old and new, as it shows their progression without drastically changing their sound.
Opener ‘Tate Modern’, doesn’t hold back in showing who Muskets are. It’s full of big, grungy riffs and catchy melodies that make it hard to not listen to the song over and over. Subtly layering vocals throughout the song changes the tone, softer when the backing vocals are sung and harsher when they are shouted. ‘Tate Modern’ definitely opens ‘Spin’ with a bang.
‘Scranton’ highlights the diversity of Muskets as the choruses build to become heavy and loud, yet perfectly blend into sickly sweet moments where lyrics are sung over backing vocals of ‘ooo’s. This song makes you want to singalong until you can’t anymore. ‘Lynton Street’ steps away from the harder edge Muskets have shown so far on ‘Spin’ by beginning with delicate riffs, softly sung vocals and drums played at a slower pace. But not before long, it explodes into a loud, emotional, emo punk song that Muskets are brilliant at creating. Continuing with this easy listening theme is the following song, ‘Top Of My Head’. Here twinkly riffs and full grungy guitars are swapped between and blended together showcasing the two sides of the band perfectly.
‘Colourview’ gets straight back to fast beats, chuggy riffs and shouted vocals. The vocalists of Muskets sing with distinctive southern English accents and it sounds great. ‘Drowsy’ is one of the grittier, grungier tracks on the EP, even though it doesn’t stray too far from the refined rock sound that appears throughout ‘Spin’. The song fades into riffs and a drum beat repeated and slowed down before transcending into guitar feedback that slowly fades out; ending the EP rocking out.
‘Spin’ is a must for fans of the current UK emo, grunge and punk scene as it mixes genres to encapsule a unique sound crafted and refined by Muskets.
OLIVIA DYTOR