aaamusic | On 22, May 2011

Oh hello, that’s a zippy drum intro you’ve got there. Featuring crisp production, glacial tones, and a bloody, tender heart, Gunning For Tamar don’t bother watering down the kick on the opening song ‘German Treasure Island’. The nebulous sound “alternative” gets some bad press, but this Oxford foursome are here to rehabilitate the world of ornate pop-punk. The drums pound arrhythmically, and the guitar sound is a jagged, shrill tone that carries artfully-written melodies and an echo that sounds like a buzzsaw’s daydream. Fluctuating between mesmeric and punchy, this provides a tantalising, atmospheric backdrop to multi-tracked vocals that are slightly reminiscent of American alt-rock, only sans the irritating navel-gazing, and with a hefty dose of instrumental innovation.

‘Running With Scissors’ throws a churning metallic bite into the band’s sound, with a savage subsonic bass snarl that almost damages the solar plexus if you don’t adjust your speakers. Add to this skittering percussion somewhat akin to a horror movie in a small wooden box, and a guitar-driven song that’s for all intents and purposes somewhere between the dark, claustrophobic rock of Finch in their better moments and the artistic accessibility of Magazine, albeit with a slightly proggier hint in the shifting musical dynamic and texture. ‘God Made Colours’ carries on the marriage of the experimental and the accessible, as a lyrical, blissful guitar intro unfolds over a lurching, syncopated rock beat. Compared to previous tracks, this provides a moment of tranquillity, as the vocals in their borderline-ethereal expressiveness tread the line between the mournful and the warming. Such a gentle track is where the band’s dreamlike lyricism really comes into play, sparsely-textured verses placing them with a naked percussive clatter.

Closer ‘Bonfires’ feels like a younger Biffy Clyro, if they were to release their poppier stuff first. I.e.: the experimental edge is present, as well as a healthy dose of surrealism, but the open heart of a pop song is tempered by the feeling of something fresh, rather than an overdose of success. Sentiment is kicked into exciting new forms by means of cutting yet hazy guitars, distant vocals, sturdy bass and a drummer that sounds like, given another year or so, could be a considerable force to be reckoned with.

‘Deaf Cow Motel’ probably won’t make my list of “things that have lit up 2011”, but it most definitely has left marks on this May. Gunning For Tamar have taken the experimental approach to alt-rock that Biffy Clyro have pushed into the limelight, given it a spit-shine, and jumped straight into its looking-glass world. Given they’ve only had a year to do this, their sound is already a distinct and rewarding voice that could yet break into a bright and shining future.

Author: Katie H-Halinski