Album Review by Mark Bayross
Much is expected of Serafin. A bidding war to sign them in America, a series of critically acclaimed singles, and a well earned reputation as exciting live performers have all led to rumours of the four piece becoming the next Placebo or Muse.
Happily, NO PUSH COLLIDE wastes no time in explaining why the band are so hotly-tipped. STEPHEN’S IN THE SKY hits hard with a psychedelic wall of My Vitriol-style guitars, before singles DAY BY DAY – something of an immediate classic – and the bittersweet THINGS FALL APART complete a strong opening trio of tracks.
Dave Sardy’s production is as robust as you’d expect from a man who has worked with the likes of Marilyn Manson – just listen to the way ORDINARILY ME erupts into an explosion of searing riffage – while Ben Fox Smith demonstrates that the songwriting talent he showed fronting cult indie band Stony Sleep has been harnessed to great effect.
Much of this is shiver-down-the-spine stuff, from the stripped down acoustic strum of PEACHES FROM SPAIN to the muscular dynamics of LETHARGY, while lyrically, the songs are injected with a healthy dose of black humour, even if lines like “cut me up and make me into shoes / so at least I get to walk beyond these walls” sound a little odd.
In all, this is an assured, impressive debut, demonstrating a range and feel for mood beyond many of the band’s more established peers. Next big thing? On the strength of this, damn right.
