Heady British rock.
“True Novella” is a melodic and catchy rock epic; the Scottish trio aren’t exactly unknown though despite this being their debut album. Their debut release, the “So Ventura” EP had a track featured on “Saints Row” the XBOX 360 game. It’s been 3 years since the release of that record though they might have to work pretty hard to make people remember them...
Luckily on this new album they seem to have pulled out all the stops. Opener ‘Vanity’ has a classic sounding rock riff running through it; the duel vocals bring it back into the present though and as you get further in to the track the guitars get heavier and more solid so you never feel like you’re sliding back into the past. The urge to compare them to Biffy Clyro is pretty strong, accents aside, they do have a tendency to employ jagged rhythms and change time signatures frequently • as a whole though this is a much more straight forward rock album than the quirky Biffy of old would have come up with and it often leans more towards a post hardcore sound; recalling the melodic heaviness of Million Dead at times. The tunes are seriously catchy, expansive and sweeping; they build to intense crescendos of tuneful noise often, like on ‘Something In Spanish’ on which the guitars climb and climb, making your skin tingle.
Most of the tracks here are really memorable; ‘Big Huff’ is awash with hooks and ‘Marc Temple’ with its beautiful, quiet/loud echoes and heady emotional core had me humming along on the second listen. ‘Broke Her Heart So She Broke My Jaw’ is a heavier and more screamy track, but still tuneful and compellingly angsty and emotional; ‘Isaac Newton’ uses a jagged, broken time signature but has a sing along, heavy chorus to pull you back in.
Overall this is a strong debut release; full of catchy and melodic tunes but satisfyingly heavy and emotionally charged enough to keep you interested. Tempercalm have a very British sound and this can sometimes be a hindrance to heavier home-grown talent, but hopefully this album is slick and solid enough to take them further than the underground scene.