Four Marys - Sweet And Sour EP
by Jonjo McNeill
published: 18 / 11 / 2004
Label:
Four Marys
Format: CDS
intro
Promising Elastica-style prog-punk pop on four song debut EP from Newcastle all girl three piece, the Four Marys
I'm sure the Four Marys have been compared to Elastica before, and I'm sure they're sick of it. And I was going to try avoiding saying it, but I've already done it now. Sorry girls, but It's meant as a compliment. The 'Sweet And Sour' EP is a four track collection of angry prog-punk pop from this Newcastle all girl three piece, and is a highly refreshing listen. The title track is a bass heavy pop gem with a fantastically messy guitar riff and some extremely angry backing vocals. The lead singer, Christianne, is stylistically very similar to the aforementioned's Justine Frischmann, in tone and accent. But I'd dare say she's a tad angrier. 'Outside' is, If anything, even poppier, but even noisier and angrier with it. The cleverly named 'Instrumental' is a snappy little indie-disco number, but I'd gripe that they didn't write a song round this, as it sounds like it could be a quality little singalong. 'So Why Even Try' is my favourite here. More tuneful than the others, it jumps from snappy to laid-back and back again and has seemingly had a lot more thought put into it. This is a good sign of a promising band, who - with their high in the mix guitars, low in the mix vocals - are perhaps still feeling around for their sound. The songs on offer are excellent though, and I wait impatiently for more.
Track Listing:-
1 Sweet And Sour2 Outside
3 Instrumental
4 So Why Even Try
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesPhilip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Deep Purple - =1
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
Bill Wyman - Drive My Car
Popstar - Obscene
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart