Scholars - Always Lead, Never Follow

by Dave Goodwin

published: 8 / 4 / 2013

Label: Banquet Records
Format: CD

Monotonous but ultimately impressive ten years-in-the-making debut album from Hemel Hempstead-based rock/punk/indie band, Scholars

Review

Scholars are a rock/punk/indie band from Hemel Hempstead. They have an extensive catalogue of touring venues and supporting bands such as Twin Atlantic, Pure Love, Hell Is For Heroes and Hundred Reasons, but until now have not released an album. It comes, therefore, as no surprise that, having gained for themselves a good reputation as a live act, 'Always Lead, Never Follow' captures a lot of their stage energy. Scholars themselves are a colourful five piece comprising of Chris Aylett (bass), Mike Frost (drums), Sam Nicholls (vocals and keyboards), Cal Owen and Ethan Owen (both guitars). They have actually been together honing their craft for ten years with the tracks on the album being a collection of the last six of those years, and, as Sam says, "it is a story of the band so far." 'Black and Blue' is the first single to come from the album, but for me it's not the strongest track. That accolade comes towards the end of the record in the guise of 'Scaredy Cat' and 'Waiting'. 'Damage' is a busy-sounding affair about the state of the British Press, slating the tabloids for the stories they print and warning us to "behold the black death!" 'Stellar' has a nice wandering synth start and about love is slightly more melodical than the other tracks. The whole album has a lot to say on a variety of different topics, but the slight downfall for me is that one half of the album is a little repetitive and over angry in places. There are some cracking moments in it though that greatly outweigh the downs like the Classix Nouveau-styled 'Baraka' that can't help reminding us "when it's over, it's over." 'Scaredy Cat' is the strongest track for me. It's the sort of track you hear on the radio, and you when you get home you google it to find out more about it, while 'Fractures' has an early Muse-ish sound. 'Waiting' is a more sedate affair, and shows more about the musical ability/content of the band than half of the more indiscriminate tracks on it. This is a good start though. There will be a few tracks on it that will wash over you and sound a little like the other ones, but overall this is a step in the right direction for a group of lads that should see some success in the near future.

Track Listing:-

1 Bad for Business
2 Rage Concern
3 Ties
4 Damage
5 Baraka
6 Black and Blue
7 Hydrochaesin
8 More Medicine
9 Stellar
10 Scaredy Cat
11 Blinda Data
12 Fractures
13 Waiting

Band Links:-

http://scholars.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/scholars/
http://www.scholarstheband.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/Scholarst
https://twitter.com/scholarstheband