Album Review

Guineafowl – Hello Anxiety

• 30th Jun 2011

“In Our Circles” – an immediate, Killers-esque anthem – ensures that Guineafowl’s debut EP has a strong start. It’s the kind of sweaty, emotional pop-rock there’ll always be a market for. The arrangement, with thumping bass drum and heavily-delayed guitars, suggest aspirations of stadium tours, while the vocals emote convincingly in the foreground.

The rest of this EP is similarly strong, “Little Fingers” and “My Lonely Arms” are more of the same, and its welcome on a CD which dispenses with hipster irony in favour of a refreshing sincerity all too rare in the pop charts this decade.

Hello Anxiety peaks at track three – “Botanist” – an upbeat, head-nodding number with a killer riff and lovely, delicate vocals.

There’s much to recommend this debut disc, which creaks under the weight of singalong melodies and big guitar sounds. I suspect we’ve not heard the last of Guineafowl.