When I read their name I was expecting some Oi! sounds with talk of going down the pub and fighting after the football, how I was wrong. After some kind of odd band introduction from what I guess is a gig by a woman who sounds a bit like she should be presenting on Radio 1, Old Firm Derby kick into their first track.
Musical Opener “Never Again” owes a lot to Rufio and other fast technical bands of the emo-tinged pop-punk genre. It’s all very American sounding, even the vocals, which is something I’m personally not too keen on from a British band, but the music is excellent with some nice guitar lines and fast paced drums.
“This Year’s Flock” takes a much slower direction, sounding a little bit like Further Seems Forever which is a great break before kicking back into some melodic punk with “On The Eve Of Something Big” which again takes a Rufio or possible Ataris influence and runs with it. Good Stuff. “Elmer Cowley” is probably my favourite track on this EP with powerful vocals, a great guitar outro and a good sense of melody. Last track “Sinking In” is more of the same, and another great track but I thought it was quite short in comparison to some of the others.
These guys can definitely write a good song, and have 5 well-recorded tracks here to back it up. I’d never heard of Old Firm Derby before but they should really get out there gigging because they have some good songs and I’m sure that they could do well.
Phil