Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Usual Pleasures - Kevlar Hearts

Hear The Track Here


If you are having an attack of the deja-vu's panic not. Yes we have seen this band and this track before. I first reviewed a remix of the track Kevlar Hearts (January 2010), and quite liked its punky, raw approach, although it wasn't without its flaws. There again, it's punk innit. Rough and ready is the name of the game. You may remember I also reviewed the bands All In The Eyes (March 2010), yet another example of just how true they are to the ethos of punk. Both tracks showed that if true punk floats your boats, then let Sheffield's finest do it to you in fine style.

In the intervening year or so, they have had a lineup change and at the time of writing now consist of: Mark Fletcher (vocals), Chris Jones (lead guitar), Ryan Donohoe (rhythm guitar), Rob Neutron (bass neutrino) and Sam Taylor bashing the skins (Ed: yeah, drummers I think they are called). Not only have they made the definitive (their words) version of this track, they have made a video for it too. I have to say that watching the video (directed by Elizabeth Holly Hurt) really helped me to feel the power and drive that it contains, and it was the first time I was aware that the track had backing vocals...(!). Remember the rough and ready thing?

There isn't much difference between the sound quality in the video and on the MP3, so it doesn't really matter which one you latch on to. I personally prefer the video because, as I say, it puts the song across so much better when you see the band performing it. There again, although I do like punk, it isn't a genre I dip into that often but The Usual Pleasures have proved themselves to be - in the few tracks I have heard - a known quantity. Good, solid punk rock with a pretty decent song attached. This version of Kevlar Hearts is set to be the bands debut single and I'd say it shows what they do - love it or hate it. Me, this is as good as I've heard from them, if not better. Just wish I could hear the backing vocal...

High Energy punk rock. Highly Recommended.

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