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Album Review: These Miles – Take Them and Fail Them

imageThese Miles are a small time five-piece band hailing from London. The group have been together for just over a year, and describe themselves as mid-90’s mid-west post-hardcore with a dash of indie thrown in for good measure.

The EP begins with ‘Winter At the Seams’ which has a nice upbeat melody, skillful guitar riffs and a good beat. The vocals from Richard Amos are extremely unique with a very deep voice, certainly like marmite; you will either love them or hate them. Personally I’m not so sure; his vocals seem to lack a good range and are rather monotone throughout the piece.

<a href=“http://thesemiles.bandcamp.com/album/take-them-and-fail-them” data-mce-href=“http://thesemiles.bandcamp.com/album/take-them-and-fail-them”>Take Them and Fail Them by These Miles</a>

This follows with ‘Dear Hawarden’ which sounds like the least developed track, the melody is unsettling with loud brash instrumentals. It reminds me of a horror style musical; building up to a clashing of sounds and noises. It has nothing amazing, no catchy hooks, no sing-a-long chorus and musically not difficult or skillful. Unfortunately as I carried on listening through the rest of the tracks, the EP failed to impress. Every track is similar, with little innovation, creativity and diversity. The group have not successfully found that magic spark to make the tracks standout against other similar sounding bands.

The best song with the most potential is the title track ‘Take Them and Fail Them’, which begins as a playful tune, and builds up with heavy drums, electrifying riffs and striking work on the bass. The track has a good melody and a nice pace. This is also the track where Richards’ vocals most fit; they work well in harmony with the instruments. Compared to tracks ‘Dear Hawarden’ and ‘Draw This Closer’ where the vocals just don’t sound in sync and the lyrics are horrifically bad; “You, you draw this closer, cigarette butts through the lips, half past ten, its half past ten, you, your afraid of failing to reach, never too long to wait.”

I think these guys could slowly win you round after listening to their tracks a good few times, but compared to the huge amount of other talented bands there are, I can’t see these guys staying afloat. Their melodies, clashing instruments, bad lyrics, and deep monotone vocals just don’t cut it for me. These Miles are a group for a selected audience that appreciates their quirky style.

2/5

‘Take Them and Fail Them’ by These Miles is available now.

These Miles links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words by Chantelle Kelly (@ChantelleKelly3)

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