EP Review: Velcros - Spit Takes
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Reportedly inspired by a show from Texas band, Radioactivity, fellow musicians Fabian Bremer, Nicolai Hildebrandt and Manuel Markstein decided they wanted to in some way replicate what they had just seen and so Velcros was conceived. Already established in other projects, including the experimental jazz, Radare, the psyche/ indie rock of Okta Logue and the abrasive hardcore of Sarg, Velcros would represent a return of sorts to the members’ more punk roots.
Spit Takes is both the band’s first ever released recorded material and the teaser for the debut full-length expected to land in the winter.
In saying that Velcros sees the three members returning to their punk roots we should be cautious and remember how broad a church the Punk genre is. It’s not all mohawks and braces and Spit Takes goes for a less trodden path, using Alternate Rock clean sounds and even drawing inspiration from the music of the Sixties and Seventies.
Beginning with Secret State, this sub-thirteen-minute platter, opens with a terminally upbeat, melodic clean punk sound that never resists the temptation to become over-played. Bad Device has very much a DIY feel to it, as though it were birthed in a garage, born of a simple, unfussy guitar pattern and supplemented by a strong bass core.
Misery Surf and Astronomical both feel rooted in Pop-Punk, played through a Sixties-era rig. Full of hooks and earworms, both show a focus on the songwriting, and brings Spit Takes to a close in a memorable fashion.
Sitting between the Indie Rock and the Pop-Punk is Metal Shaped Like Me which, I think, is the most interesting song on offer here. Its simple, energetic drive drops out as the song comes to a climax, replaced with a slower and more introspective denouement.
Across the brief run-time of Spit Takes, Velcros have put together a five-track trailer for upcoming material that hints at an independently-minded take on writing songs and the ageless quality of the result. Not the heaviest thing out this year, granted, but if you’ve a mind to tread this path you may well find unexpected delights.
