EP Review by Kris Griffiths
Serca are a new industrial rock band hailing from Harrow, North West London. The three-piece are made up of the impressively named vocalist Bart Lawless, and musicians/programmers Shaz Yousaf and Futoshi Minesaki. Their music is influenced by the typical purveyors of this genre such as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, but hidden away in Yousaf’s list of influences is the odd figure of Tori Amos. I listened out for any examples of her influence sneaking into their work but, alas, none was forthcoming.
SINGULARITY is a demo EP comprising six tracks of dark and pounding industrial beats. It sounds like a lot of work has gone into the very precise programming and production of this largely impressive piece of work. The standout track is the second, BACK TO NATURE, which moves atmospherically from abrasive percussion into passionately vocalised lyrics. This is immediately followed by MORPHOLOGICAL FREEDOM, another excellent track with a speedier rhythm and cleverly distorted vocals.
Vocalist Lawless provides a rather interesting account of his lyrical content on the band’s website. The only criticism I have of his style is that he restricts his voice to a limited range when there is clear potential for expansion. Other than that, his band’s efforts show great potential and if considerable progress is made, Serca may just acquire the fame that Lawless needs to express his ideas to the masses.
