Album Review

Stagecoach – Jonah Lomu / Tony Hawk

• 9th May 2011

Fuzzed up rawness with a rock edge and the odd post-mod wink, as the mood mixing Surrey troupe, Stagecoach, seeks to use ‘Jonah Lomu’, to increase the momentum in their campaign to get more radio time.

An intoxicated vocal swagger, fuzzed up guitars and the odd stabbing percussion drill filters in profile to the grizzly chorus, whilst the rock provocation gushes out of the vocals of Luke Barham. His boast in a recent interview that their sound is like: “smack in the face followed by a warm bear hug”. Doesn’t quite ring true, an elbow in the shoulders followed by a pat on the arse, is a more apt description of this particular effort.

‘Tony Hawk’, builds from a spindling Americana base and takes on a lobbing touch that bases its impact on the beleaguered narrative of Barham, stroked along by some mildly cheesy woo-hoo backing.  A more hanging slant gives this sub-three minute offering feeling, but the lyrics don’t grab you enough to justify this approach.

Stagecoach are just beginning their journey to try and breathe some freshness into UK rock. It’s a little too early to dismiss this as a trip down a dead end, as there’s potential here.

Rating; 3/5