But in the end, perfect is a heavy weight to carry and very few
records truly reach that mark, that said, this comes very very close,
and it's a truly magnificent achievement.
Terrafraid hail from the current musical hotbed of Dundee in Scotland,
indeed members of this band are present in countless other acts from
the city and are helping to spearhead a real golden generation of talent.
This began as 2 friends, Gavin Ross and Sean Arnold demo-ing their
indie dream pop/punk creations as a side project but they must have
quickly realised they were onto something and the 2 year labour of love
that followed has resulted in this 15 track album that delves into the
innermost workings of a mind dealing with mental health issues and
trying to make sense of it all. "Despondent" has been utterly dominant
on my playlist for the past weeks.
Beginning with a good 40/45 secs of distortion, feedback and crashing
drums you'd be forgiven for doing a double take at the genre tag but
it just proves to be the first in a long line of master stokes thrown at
you during this whole journey. When it gives way it leads us into opener
"Smooch" with its trademark bright guitars, dancey drum patterns and the
accomplished dual vocals, bristling with a warm but not overpowering
Scots brogue that will all become such a feature of so much of this record.
Musically the influences are certainly 80s pop, 90s indie/emo and definitely
some technical punk aspects in a lot of the drumming, the guitars are bright,
the rhythm work is incredible and the harmonies are to die for, you may feel
slightly guilty for enjoying this so much such is the pop element but it's so
well constructed its just irresistible. "Smooch" closes out with a beautiful
bridge and sets the bar high from the outset. By the time you reach the
chorus of the insanely catchy "Self Indulgent Spotlight" and
are hit with the line -
"The worst that could happen is you fall for my charm", it's impossible to
not already be won over by that very thing. More beautiful instrumentation
(all instruments on the recording were played by either Sean or Gavin by
the way) and vocal work all continue on "The Obvious" which reminds me a
bit of New Order, albeit New Order with gang vocals -
"And the obvious is sometimes what we've been trying to find
With all this time not being me to feel as if I'm too blind
To see what's on the inside"
I keep expecting the standard to drop but it never does,
"What is Left of Life" again throws out so much melody and irresistible sing
a long moments, "Is it Worth it" explores the virtues of a life touring as a
musician and how much more at home an active mind is when it's allowed
to express and create every night. None of these songs are heavy musically
but some are definitely more "ballads" than others, "Where there's Warmth"
offers up piano and acoustic guitars and literally brings an added warmth itself.
Genuinely expressive and honest lyricism again draws you in and
keeps your attention. Heading into the 2nd half of the record the standard of
songs is still incredible, "As of Yet", "Words", "The Fall" and "Chasing Ghosts"
are all huge highlights with so much going on I feel this review would never
end if I were to go into them all, but try listening to "The Fall" and see how
long it sticks in your head for. "Chasing Ghosts" is a personal highlight for me
due to the subject matter, and that's one of the beauties of this record, everyone
will hear something within it that rings so true and reminds you of a time you
probably felt the same. Such is the stigma surrounding mental health issues many
people will struggle to talk about how it affects them, opening up hearts and minds
through songwriting is an expressive and sometimes healing process, hearing these
results is genuinely moving and it's been a while since a record made me feel how
"Despondent" does.
The album finishes as strong as it's been throughout with "Control" expressing the
crushing desire to be able to have that very thing, before the bright opening chords
of the title track, my (current) favourite, ring out inviting you into the closing
chapter of this absorbing journey. It's as close to a pure pop/punk song the record
has, terrific drum patterns open up huge sing a longs -
"Expose my weakness when I least
expect it, as a crowd turn to look at
where I am now, & my head is to the ground.
I'm not a man who ever bets,
That's not to say I'm without regrets
at least I know I, recognise
That I need help sometimes
I guess there's two sides of me
& you are yet to meet the 3rd voice
That's the cause of it all,
the reason for my downfall
into my closedness
the list is endless
I tried to find a reason for it
the truth is, I'm it."
Before an anthemic instrumental outro that staggers and slows till the last beat and
leaves you breathless to reflect on what's just happened. One of the most
accomplished,intelligent collections of songwriting that a Scottish act has ever
produced, dark thematically yes but at the same time mindful of the promise
that music can deliver such cathartic experiences that can in turn elevate
struggling spirits.
So why not perfect? Well, the one criticism I have is one that will hopefully and
rightfully should be remedied in time. To date this is just a digital release and
something of this scale deserves backing and it deserves to be imprinted to a
beautiful slab of wax. I know the guys have plans for a physical release and to
be honest, the fact they have produced such outstanding quality on a shoestring
budget is a remarkable achievement and we should just be happy it's out there.
I certainly am.
9.5 / 10
Head right on over to http://terrafraid.bandcamp.com/album/despondent to hear
and to buy the record.
