Album Review

We The Committee – Munich

• 6th Sep 2012

Earlier this year, We The Committee released their EP This Won’t End Quietly online and it has been met with critical acclaim. This release has lead to them being mentioned as one of MTV’s featured Soundtrack artists, as well as being added to tv shows such as Revenge and Teen Wolf.

So, it doesn’t come as a shock that their latest release, Munich, is a step up from what we’ve previously heard. And, at 6 tracks long, I can already hear the “it’s not long enough” cries. But believe me when I say Quality over Quantity.

Munich is lifted from the get go, with “Start a War”. A slow to build song, it keeps with the cinematic music we have come to recognise with WTC, before we hear Kirsty Sutton’s vocals lead the way with the bitter line “Love is just a flicker in your eyes”. The song, detailing the fights between two lovers, emits the emotion of such an instance that every one of us has known.

We are then met with the title track of the album, which is lead with Pat Knight’s guitar work before we are once again met with Sutton’s haunting lyrics. From this point, we have “100th Time”, which deals with the frustrations which come with every relationship. “Honey I’m still restless / I’m falling to my knees / It’s the 100th time I’ve had to put you together” is the chorus bellowed over and over towards the end of the song. In doing this, Sutton almost relays just how frustrated she is, repeating herself like a broken record.

“Monsters” follows, and is one of the stand out tracks of Munich. Here we see Knight joining in on vocal duties along with his musicianship, a mark not yet made on the record. And, just as in their previous release, the two vocalists work in harmony. But it’s not the vocals which make the track – it’s the harrowing instruments throughout. The aggressively short song cuts straight to point of being scared and wanting to get away as quick as possible, as with the end of the track.

The previously released “Better Me”, which can be streamed on the band’s site, brings something of an uplifting mood with the piano and guitar work within. But this is only countered by the antagonistic lyrics sung on top. But this just builds into what is possibly the most powerful track of the record. While “Better Me” becomes something so much more in its final 2 minutes that it needs to be heard.

And, with that, we have closing track “Istanbul”. And in bringing the album to a close, we have a pounding drum that has not yet been heard on the album. The band’s most ambitious song yet, it is pulled off in such a glamorous and infectious matter that it’s a wonder we haven’t heard something like this from them before. That being said, it’s also hard to imagine any of their other songs being brought to life in this fashion.

I have no problem in saying I had high expectations for this release. After the raw and effervescent This Won’t End Quietly, it was easy to see why. And yet, somehow, my expectations have been met. WTC can take solace in knowing that they are onto a win, that they have given birth to something truly inspiring. The world is watching. And it should be.

Tracklist:
Start A War
Munich
100th Time
Monsters
Better Me
Istanbul

Download: Istanbul, 100th Time, Better Me