Wheres Billy-The Truth Hurts EP
Pulling in tones from many modern bands including Lostprophets, Kids in Glass Houses and Bullet for My Valentine, British youngsters Wheres Billy are an appealing mix of sing-along hooks and anthemicly driving guitars. 'The Truth Hurts' EP is a short insight into what the band have to offer and it has bucketloads of potential if not quite hitting the mark just yet.
Post-hardcore leaning heavy instrumentation and soaring metalcore guitar-licks work well together throughout the five songs, with 'The Truth Hurts' being a particular highlight in its balance of metal crush and hard rock swagger. Equally, each song has the huge-chorus appeal to reach out to a large audience. The band are also evidently rather eclectic with an unexpected guitar solo coming to the forefront during 'Thoughts and Fears' and a sudden roaring breakdown at the climax of opener 'Anxiety', it enables the album to stand out as something that doesn't all sound the same. The production is also decidedly rocking with Chris Coulter (Reuben, Blakfish) allowing it to possess a slight raw feel akin to that of much missed British-rockers Reuben's brilliant 'Very Fast Very Dangerous' album.
The problem with the EP however is its lack of subtlety in showing off its influences. Closing track 'This Time' sounds so much like 'Scream Aim Fire'-era Bullet for My Valentine, both structurally and vocally, that it would be unsurprising if one were to listen to the song and think it was the Welsh metallers themselves. Vocalist Darren Robinson has a strong voice and it's a shame therefore that, at times, his vocals verge on mimicry sounding either like BFMV's Matt Tuck or KIGH's Aled Phillips, it's great then that once the groove on 'Anxiety' fully kicks in he begins to sound a little more like himself and benefits greatly from it. The record's lyrics are also slightly uneven with the aforementioned opener's angst-ridden frustration soaring way up above the obviousness and cliché of lines like "I never wanted this to be a distant memory" on 'Thoughts and Fears'. It's for these reasons then that Wheres Billy still have some work to do but, with all that said, firm foundations are certainly in place and with a little more songwriting finesse they could find themselves well on the road to a mainstream audience.