The Don Ramos Players, for those who don’t know, are a kind of Kingston ‘super group’, made up of members of tonnes of great old bands. They’ve released a couple of records on banquet and this new EP is the first to come out on the band’s own label, BH9. While it’s not a huge departure from what the band have done previously, ‘History and Geography’ is perhaps a little less melodic and a little more ‘No Idea’ in sound. The vocals are gruffer than ever and the sound certainly does take a nod towards earlier Hot Water Music than it did previously.
‘The Gloss and The Grey’, for instance, still retains a sense of melody but is that bit darker than the likes of, say, ‘Inkjets and Toners’. It’ a feel the band stick with throughout the EP. ‘As The Sparrows’ is a bit slower and less in-yer-face than the band have been of old, while the closing ‘Writtenhouse’ actually reminds me a little bit of the Manics before they went dad-rock, especially in the vocal delivery. Or maybe that’s just me.
There are some glorious moments that hark back to the band’s earlier material mind you, so don’t be despondent if you’re reading this thinking ‘fuck those guys for changing their sound, the sellout bastards’. Fret not, because the title track is a chunky slice of pop-punk with passion and energy in abundance, while ‘Voyages Extraordinaires’ is another great track. If The Don Ramos Players have passed you by for some reason, ‘History and Geography’ would be an excellent place to start your collection.