This Drama

Tarantula Mata

Written by: PP on 29/09/2010 22:17:45

Canary Island-based This Drama surprised me last year with their distinctive brand of 'tropical punk', a funky and experimental form of punk rock which made the listener feel like he's underneath the palm trees watching a hardcore show. It was so different to most other musical outings last year, that for their next EP "Tarantula Mata", they've been able to hook in The Bronx guitarist Joby J. Ford, Saosin guitarist Beau Burchell, and producer Roger Lian (Coheed & Cambria, Deftones, Thrice) as the production team. Quite an impressive list of names, eh?

Anyway, the new EP sees This Drama refine their sound and move into a different direction from their intriguing tropical foundations. While their angular and curvy grooves can still be heard on "127 La Brea" in the form of light guitars, the sound overall has moved more towards aggressive clean-vocal punk sound. Think bands like Ignite, Nations Afire and other So-Cal punk bands, but add in a cultural tinge that you can probably only acquire by living on the Islands. There's a distinct rock'n'roll vibe to many guitars, drawing inspiration from bands like The Bronx, that is, if the latter had clean vocals instead of unforgiving screaming. This change gives the band some momentum and a nice tempo throughout the EP, but unfortunately it comes at a cost of memorable song parts and some of the inner quirkiness that made "San Diego XIII" feel so fresh. The songs blend together a little too much for my liking, and aside from a couple of solid hits, there isn't enough to come after here. Check out if any of the bands mentioned hang out near the top of your personal chart, otherwise give it a miss.

Download: Five Years
For the fans of: Ignite, Nations Afire, The Bronx
Listen: Myspace

Release date 20.07.2010
Deep Elm Records

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