7

Forty Two

The Answer are an Irish band who release their first EP in July (Keep Believin'). Having supported the Darkness at Brixton and with festival slots such as Guilfest on the cards, things seem to be going well but do they have enough to go all the way?

The Answer have missed the boat by about two or twenty years depending how you look at it! They sound like old school rock from the 70's or 80's when spandex and blow dryed hair was the order of the day. Up until a couple of years ago this would have been quite refreshing amongst the usual music styles around but the simple fact is that The Darkness took old school rock and made it big again, then they flogged it to death and everyone got bored of it (again).
On a positive note The Answer do have a very mature sound, the vocals are perfectly suited, sounding not unlike Robert Plant in places. The guitars are crisp and musically the whole thing is tight. Track three though (Be What You Want) sounds like a complete Darkness rip off in the verse, whilst I have to admit that The Darkness did have a couple of killer riffs, the same can't be said of The Answer. The music is by no means bad, it just doesn't have the really great riff or chorus to make people sit up and take notice. They do their thing very well but it's hardly cause for excitement when it's all been seen and done before.

Realistically The Answer could well get somewhere because apart from one obvious aforementioned exception, there aren't that many bands doing this kind of material at the moment. They are also fortunate to have a great sounding frontman, who could be their ticket to success if his live performance matches or surpasses his studio sound.