Hercules Morse

Equine Size Comparison EP

Written by: MAK on 09/09/2016 14:41:49

Southampton, United Kingdom -based quartet Hercules Morse has regularly been described as what could be the perfect combination of Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters, combining glorious stoner groove riffs with the vigour of classic British rock and the melodic focus of contemporary alternative rock. After forming in late 2014, the quartet dropped their debut EP, “Edge of Life”, in December 2015, and soon picked up a host of rave reviews and plenty of radio play. This quickly lead to the high anticipation for this follow-up EP, “Equine Size Comparison”.

It’s hard to deny that the popular alternative rock sound heard here is heavily influenced by both bands previously mentioned. Opening track “Asleep at the Wheel” kicks off with some bluesy guitar riffs, and within the structure, you can sense a hint of QOTSA frontman Josh Homme’s swagger — both vocally and musically. That same swagger flows right into the second track, “The Boss”, where the intro is filled with crunchy rock riffs with sleazy guitar hooks layered on top. Shortly after, chilled out vocal melodies come in.

“Nobody’s Fool” drops that Homme sleaze-rock feel and goes right for the Dave Grohl-infused, catchy rock ballad influence. The overall tone is rather mellow and charming, yet still, it carries the right atmosphere to be a punchy rock song in the chorus. It’s a nice break that flows brilliantly into “Do It Right”, which is quite possibly the best song on the EP. It captures the best of what we’ve heard so far, hooking together distorted riffs, bluesy melodies, outstanding drum fills and a catchy as hell chorus. It’s a song designed to be played on the radio. “Chemical Lullabies” continues that exact same vibe with awesome, heavy rock riffs balanced out by some soothing vocal melodies. Again it combines the perfect sound of what merging QOTSA and the Foos could sound like; the Homme-esque riffs mixed with Grohl-like vocal melodies represent something that a lot of people have wanted to hear for a long time, and Hercules Morse pulls it off sublimely.

The five songs within “Equine Size Comparison” are loaded with all the right factors and talent to push the Southampton lads forward. There's an abundance of melody and harmony, musically and vocally. The grooves are captivating and lively, and there is also a great handful of guitar solos to sink your teeth into. The choruses have the same hooking factor that a lot of contemporary pop songs have, which wouldn’t make it surprising to hear these songs get a lot more radio play over the next year or so.

7

Download: Asleep at the Wheel, Do It Right, Chemical Lullabies
For The Fans Of: Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Eagles of Death Metal, Wolfmother
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 02.09.2016
Self-released

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