[SUB]NOVA - Souvenir (Album)
Self Released - 2010
Sheffield based, upcoming rock band SubNOVA are
an entirely new discovery for me; however given the host of positive reviews
which they have accumulated, their simply has to be something special about
this band.
After just one listen I could feel the emergence
of that sadly forgotten grunge-rock sound, which I have been longing to hear
the revival of for a long time. I could cite bands such as Soundgarden, Alice
in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots as potential influences for SubNOVA and
rightly so, because that was a decade when music rocked. Vocally, Gary Walker doesn’t
hold back and truly delivers the goods.
This album has a clear flow to it and is an
absolute treat for any newcomer to their music. It is rare to find a band who
can produce an instant favourite to fans who less than ten minutes ago were not
aware of the bands existence. Take ‘Black Soul Monday’ for example; which has
all the key elements you would expect any big American band to be utilising and
yet producing worse music than lesser known SubNOVA, who are the epitome of
superb, undiscovered talent. On that note, if a so called ‘well known’ band had
released this album you get the feeling it would have gone top ten for sure.
As the album progresses, so too does the obvious
talent and skill available to the musicians within this group. Now, if Lemar
was sitting next to me now, he’d be belting out ‘If there’s any justice in the
world....’ to which I would interject and include a lyric involving SubNOVA
taking over the UK with pure dominance. I'm not sure if Lemar would enjoy the prospect
of us completing a duet together, but I certainly believe SubNOVA are a damn
fine band with more potential than words can describe.
The biggest problem SubNOVA faced was having me
as their reviewer. I have always placed Chris Cornell, Layne Stayley and Eddie
Vedder and their bands on a pedestal from a young age and so anybody who comes
remotely close is instantly compared, BUT I’ve got to hand it to the boys, they
blew me away. What a kick-ass, phenomenal band.
I am sure people reading this are thinking, ok,
so you like them, now tell us about the music. To which I would reply, get your
money out and treat yourself to an album which SHOULD be one which marks the
2010 music scene in years to come. I could try and give favourite tracks, but I’d
be totally stumped! The current track playing as I write this review is ‘Severance’,
so there you go, get started with that! But in all honesty, this is one of
those purchases which you could never regret.
9/10
Review by Zorro
