Altsounds - EP REVIEW: ENJOY DESTROY

Traditionally an eponymously titled EP will be among a fledgling bands first releases. Not so for post-grunge rockers, Enjoy Destroy. Well received and widely acclaimed debut, Little Dreams may have drawn gushing comparisons to Feeder and Foo Fighters from reviewers eager to unearth the next British stadium fillers (the album was produced by Feeders Grant Nicholas after all), but the band themselves were less impressed. By the time of it’s physical release in March of this year, the four-piece were already disillusioned with the records production, and after admitting they felt they’d been steered away from their true sound as they took a back seat in the studio, the Basingstoke boys wasted no time in enlisting the help of Matt Hyde (see Slipknot, Funeral For A Friend) and going back to basics with a self titled five track.

The shifting tempos, throw-your-head back choruses, growling riffs and strong, simple melodies that brought Little Dreams an enthusiastic, if not gargantuan audience are all present and correct. Musically the influences also seem to be consistent, a number of Dave Grohl’s incarnations fight for recognition over a roar of Biffy Clyro, just as they did on Little Dreams, but overall there’s a much heavier feel now to Enjoy Destroys music. The keyboards, thankfully, are gone altogether, when the synthesiser is brought out, it’s employed on far dirtier work than was previously needed and although the lingering vocals remain, the noise around them now undeniably takes centre stage.

For a band so young to have been introspective enough to re-align themselves musically so quickly after their first release, shows a confidence and self awareness that belies their tender years. It could easily have gone horribly wrong. To their credit, however, Enjoy Destroy have produced a filler-less stomper of an EP certain to attract new listeners whilst serving to whet the appetite of more long-standing fans for a second long player, whatever direction they chose to take.

Rifles is a dark, brooding opener which reverberates with feedback and strums it’s way through too many tempo changes to count. Holiday Lover is at once a blues-tinged tap-along and a roof-raising rocker complete with Zeppelin-esque guitars, and a sneering attitude. Something Else’s deliciously melancholic verses give way to the kind of blisteringly catchy hook you’ll find yourself repeating hours later. When I Choose is a Muse influenced atmospheric stadium filler the Foo’s would be proud of and the almost anthemic Pyrotechnic Eyes pleasingly recalls the swagger of Word Gets Around era Stereophonics. An impressive salvo, and five very good reasons to buy this record.

Look out Wembley Stadium.

Reviewed by Winston’s Zen for AltSounds
Because good music brings inner peace...