Basement Revolver - Heavy Eyes

by Steve Kinrade

published: 26 / 11 / 2018

Label: Fear of Missing Out Records
Format: CD

Familiar but rich alternative rock on fine debut album from rising Canadian outfit Basement Revolver

Review

The PR speak talks about how a sense of weariness pervades this, the debut album of Canadian contenders Basement Revolver. And how true that is, yet the last line “whilst harnessing a unique, yet familiar soundscape” is the diamond edge drill that penetrates the very heart of this musical kernel. This soundscape is certainly not unique, as it is a musical road much travelled on along the years. I smile in a comfortable middle aged reminiscence as I tick-box the references that this certainly familiar soundscape generates. For example we have the vocal delivery of a young Jane Weaver, or Harriet Wheeler and the lush sonic waves akin to the Shoegazer movement of the early 1990s. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad thing, not in the slightest. The modus operandi is too ease the listener into the world of Basement Revolver, and then, like the peeling of an onion, remove the layers - not without tears - to the richness that lies within. Production wise, it's like a cloth of shimmering glacial beauty has been draped over the musicality, creating a specific world that the album inhabits. Chrisy Hurns' vocals are like an insistent, nagging echo, a remembrance of an action past. Out of an overall emotionally charged album, I would agree that the track 'Knocking' is the heaviest, as it draws upon very private thoughts and feelings of La Hurn. It builds superbly, accentuating to perfection the refrain “knocking at my door”. The composition 'Words' conjures up the spirit of the dear departed Dolores O’Riordan, and again the interplay between lyric and vocal delivery is something special and haunting. Tracks like 'You’re Okay' supplement the weary nature of the compositions. Indeed, the album artwork depicts a little girl rubbing her eyes with a cloth, perhaps in tired resignation. This is an album of beauty, emotion, and catharsis, and would grace the finest of musical collections.