It’s blatantly obvious from the first few bars of ‘The Only Solution’ that THIS MODERN LIFE aren’t fucking around. The sweeping guitar sections that make bands like THE ENEMY, BIFFY CLYRO and REUBEN so successful are present, and while vocals have a slightly harder edge to them, they’re also a little reminiscent of FRANK TURNER. The mix of styles between the instrumentation and vocals isn’t quite done to perfection, but the attempt is admirable, and with some fine tuning, THIS MODERN LIFE pull off the approach well.
‘Distraction’ begins very much differently, with aspects of FINCH’s slower material creeping into the band’s sound. The debut EP from THIS MODERN LIFE unashamedly draws on wide range of different genres, and the band do a good job of balancing their influences. ‘Distraction’ is the highlight of the EP, with huge potential for igniting mass sing-alongs when played live.
‘Talk Of The Town’ has a dash of LOSTPROPHETS about it, and from the immediate, punchy chords to big, catchy chorus, it’s something that could easily be blasted out at a rock night and go down a storm.
‘Captains’ closes the EP on a slightly faster, heavier note. The vocals take a harsher turn, and aspects of both YOU ME AT SIX and INME can be detected from the band. Because of the range of influences, THIS MODERN LIFE are hard to pigeon hole into one genre because they just don’t seem to quite fit anywhere easily definable. In the future, the band will do well if they can utilise this – they have the potential to appeal to a very wide audience.
CHERI FAULKNER