Damn Vandals –The Beautiful Mind EP
When critics wantonly cry out that guitar music is dead, they must have had cloth for ears as they clearly weren't listening to London's own Damn Vandals. Finally, we are treated to an EP from the recent darlings of numerous radio DJ's playlists, whilst the quartet's debut album is queued up for a summer release and blimey what a corker of an EP it is.
It's a fusion of sounds of some sorts, but the only way to describe The Beautiful Mind EP, is that it is a straight up, balls out,rock n roll affair. All the rocking components are here with this EP to the point where they shine with such blazing gusto. The songs are driven home by the sheer ripping vocals of the awesomely named frontman Jack Kansas, who sounds like the bastard son of Ian Curtis and Nick Cave being drowned in a vat of whisky. It is almost contradictory to have the buzzing early Stones-like swagger running against the post punk gloom akin to the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen together, but it damn well works so well. The dazzling slide guitar riffs of Beautiful Mind have that scarily flooring one punch knockout power. Union Jack Boxes is a smoky bar-room romp whilst Trouble With Jesus is a bluesy brooding soul-stirrer. Throughout is an Americana twang that wouldn't be a miss on a Hold Steady record and filled with stack loads of indie chic to make any Topman wannabe clone cry in their plimsolls.
Unabashed, ballsy and full of charisma, this is enough to whet the appetite but roll on the summer when the debut album lands. A barnstormer of an EP, showcasing a well and truly mind-blowing band.