Troubleshot – Revive (Self Release)
This is the first proper release from Dutch band Troubleshot, and it sees a band still trying to find their direction. They employ a couple of different styles on this five tracker, but they should have stuck to the direction of the first couple of numbers.
Headed up by female singer, Frankie Whoo, opener Revive is somewhere between Southern flavoured Rock and what I can only describe as super-frantic Stoner Metal. It’s a stompin’ way to begin, and quite honestly, this where the band excel and is the direction they should focus on.
”Lucifer” is up next, and again it’s got a Southern Stoner vibe going on, maybe with a bit of the blues. Swampy, sassy, call it what you want, it’s slow paced, with a pounding groove going on. So far, so good…
Track 3, ”Unnatural” lives up to its name as the band seem to be trying way too hard. Melody is sacrificed for a messy stab at trying to create a heavier sound. The na, na na na na chorus is ok, but very clichéd… yep, time to hit the skip button.
”Smother” has a cool as hell groove from the off… and (clean) male vocals joining the dulcet tones of Frankie. The song itself is an upbeat rocker, that for the most part, works… it’s still slightly messy, but they just need to tweak things a little to add more melody. Guitar wise, loving the slide guitar solo and the sound in general.
Last up, it’s another heavier track, ”Let It Die”, and once again, I think they’ve missed the mark with it. I hate Alice in Chains, and that’s what this reminds me of. The style that jars and doesn’t quite work, and sounds off-key… to me anyway.
It’s like running a restaurant and offering up too many kinds of food. Quite honestly, stick to what you’re good at and don’t spread yourself too thin.
Troubleshot could be a very good Bluesy, Southern Rock meets Stoner band, but they need to tone down some of the tangents they are current going off into. If you want to be a harder rocker band, fine, go for it. But as it is right now, there are too many ingredients in the mix…
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