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Ten Percenter

I Could Never Say

Written by: HES on 30/11/2014 17:47:25

Ten Percenter's "I Could Never Say" is one of those records that start to grow on you - not really opening up until the fifth listen. My first impression was honestly that the EP was below average, mainly because vocalist Jay Brown's just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. Even though the release never really made it all the way to the top for me, I'm in all honesty happy I gave it another spin - I wish I always had time for this.

I think what actually rubbed me the wrong way is that much of Ten Percenter's sound is very alt-rock in the 00's and my mind instantly went to the "Daredevil" soundtrack that I actually gave a few spins back when. The bands that I think of here were in the lines of Fuel, Seether, Saliva or Boysetfire, in other words; dark, vocally driven rock in the more generic part of the category. Brown's voice is a bit lazy and tongue-heavy as the vocals often were in the 00's.

However when I actually got over the fact that Ten Percenter in so many ways sound like a remnant of my past, I can still find appeal in especially the lazy "Riot", which is in a live version that is using the almost catatonic vibe from the 00's in a lazy, slow chorus with the lyrics "Start a riot to communicate, for a while get your head on straight", sounding very much the opposite of the usual revolutionary spirit of rioting. On this track Brown also delivers an absolutely rock-solid guitar solo, hitting the high bars to contrast the sombre mood of the track.

One of the tracks that also gains my like after a couple of listens is the more upbeat "I Could Never Say..." which is almost Counting Crows meets The Cure. The mashup leads to a heavily melancholic, yet upbeat track with great use of vibrating guitars accompanied by small twists by e-bow that end up almost sounding synth-like. All of these parts are way more interesting than the more "classic" composition of the other songs. As someone who slowly fell in love with all the small parts of this EP I would strongly suggest the band to challenge their compositions and melodies by letting these elements be more of central rather than just additional elements.

Download: Riot, I Could Never Say
For The Fans Of: Seether, Counting Crows, Fuel
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 06.10.2014
Rainwood Records