When Bristol four-piece Oh Captive open their debut EP with very current sounding punchy emo-rock, it’s easy to roll your eyes, think “Here we go again”, and turn off. I very nearly completed the full trinity…but just before I did, I listened to a few more songs and realised there’s more to ‘Advance Creature’ than initially meets the ear.
OK, so it sits within the boundaries of what a hell of a lot of UK bands are doing at the moment. But what Oh Captive have done differently is, rather than over-complicate their sound, over-crowd it instrumentally or over-elaborate the vocals for the sake of sounding edgy and intelligent, they’ve instead chosen to just keep things simple.
I almost mistook this for lack of ability or inspiration, but after only a few repeat plays the hooks start burying themselves deep into your brain and you quickly realise it’s no coincidence: these boys know melody and they’re not afraid to use it. The big, meaty chorus on ‘Beds of Many Ghosts’ blows your hair back, and it’s thick with harmony and pop intelligence like the best moments of Coheed and Cambria.
They’re nothing like as progressive, complex or indeed as pretentious a proposition as Coheed though. Indeed, many aspects of ‘Terrible Lives’ remind me of The Movelife, albeit less aggressive and rough n’ ready, more FM friendly with a polished finish.
Despite being a two-guitar band, there’s not a massive amount of flexibility and variation to their sound. However, this isn’t to say they don’t use their instruments effectively. The second guitar adds depth and subtle contrast, with the two often powering through chord-crunching choruses in tandem, and then one dropping off to pick out simple lead moments at just the right times.
Fourth track ‘Retreat Being’ is their jewel in the crown. Vocalist Tim Kelly described it as the stand out moment of the EP in our Already Heard Track Guide a few weeks ago, and with good reason. The song comes in from the very beginning with a big riff and a melody to match. It maintains a real intensity about it throughout and the chorus is an absolute killer, rolling and crashing and making your belly tingle and your arms feel all fuzzy.
As a debut, this EP does everything it needed to. It tells us that Oh Captive are good, that they know how to write music and they know not to make the mistakes that so many others have made. It’s worth your while checking out all four tracks but Oh Captive, if you’re reading this, please write more songs like ‘Retreat Being’! That’s the sweet stuff, and more material like that will propel the band towards really making a mark on the scene.
3/5
‘Advance Creature’ by Oh Captive is out now.
Oh Captive links: Facebook|Twitter|Tumblr
Words by Alex Phelan (@listen_to_alex)
