aaamusic | On 04, Mar 2013

Christ. Sometimes the stories make the band eh? South African born, London based trio What Now have an absolute cracker to their name. Growing up in the Rock starved South African town of Ballito, three teenage friends (Ryan Morris on the vocals and guitar, Adam Jenkins on the drums and Tyron Layley on the bass and vocals) put a band together inspired by imported CD’s and VHS tapes of music videos from the likes of Foo Fighters and Green Day, it lead to some grassroots, DIY success and some nationwide success with their first album, but that wasn’t enough for the ambitious trio. Cue a disastrous move to Old London Town, where the band split up for two years after success didn’t come a calling. However, the came back together to record Move Like A Sinner, their second album technically but their debut in spirit, if the fact that their debut album isn’t listed on their website is anything to go by. So, great story all things considered, but the a great story doth not a great band make. Is the album worth the story? Well… not quite. Nearly, but not quite.

What Now make commercial, polished hard rock and they do it with a self-assurance that could only be forged in what the trio went through in order to make the record. Every record comes with a punchalong chorus, manic riffing and the kind of swagger not seen since the last Darkness record.  Let me get this right off my chest first, this record is so. Much. Fun. It has every Hard Rock trope dusted off either embraced whole-heartedly, or slapped with a gigantic synth and danceable beat . In that way alone it’s pretty awesome, and should be fucking sensational live, but on closer inspection it seems slightly hollow. This is especially evident on the two occasions where they try for a little sensitivity in Wasting Away and Midnight Swimmers, the former coming across as a hair metal band’s “sensitive” acoustic number played by a terminally bored Coldplay and the latter landing a little more success in its blatant U2 impression. When they play like the stadium Rockers they feel they are, like on the colossal Money Maker or Should’ve Said So’s slick Foo Fighters impression, things are more convincing, but one does get the feeling that they could be much, much more with a little more time to develop.

So in all, it’s a highly promising effort from a band that, in all honesty, I have nothing but goodwill for. From time to time it might get slightly corny and processed but the chemistry is still palpable and the melodies still delectable. What this does best, most likely, is make every listener very excited for what could come next from a band who’s worked so hard for everything they’ve got. Come for the story, stay for the tunes.

★★★★★

Will Howard