Rocking Indie Folk
Threatmantics certainly have a distinctive sound very different from most rock bands. To start with their sound is a quirky mix of guitars, keyboards and a light folk twinge, and then there’s the Welsh lyrics that slip into tracks like, ‘Don’t Care’. For the most part, ‘Upbeat Love’ is an album full of strutting rock tunes with a little country flair and plenty of quirky melodies. It’s the trio’s debut and they’re certainly highly unlikely to get mixed up with many other bands out there.
‘Get Outta Town’ is a curious mix of sliding violins and bolshy percussion that puts across a menacing air with a slow-building, tense coda that features tambourine twinkles and grinding violin sounds.
‘High Waister’ is punctuated by bluesy strolling riffs but has a electronically modified vocal line that gives it a touch of funk about it and when the guitars and drums kick in, it’s one hell of a fearsome racket for a country/blues tune. There’s something vaguely prog about this track, like many others as well, as a brief choral section, accompanied by tinny keyboards, bursts out of nowhere.
It’s a shame that the last track is a slightly more mellow and more forgettable affair than the rest of the album; it just plods along with some plucked violins acting as the only point of interest. Punchy opener, ‘Big Man’ is probably the most exciting track of the whole album with an aggressive, gritty style and ubercatchy chorus of, “It takes a big man to break a young girl’s heart”. It’s one of the only tracks that could really grace a dance floor, or have the balls to make it onto commercial radio.
Threatmantics have a unique sound that’s also varied and definitely holds your interest for the 30 minute duration of this album, which is very easy to get into. Some of the tracks seem to drag a little, but overall there’s plenty of interest if you’re looking for a new band to check out.