In the form of an EP, F.O.E.S are pretty breathless. Opener ‘Rival Thrones’ stabs with sharpened spite and engrossingly vivid guitars, while ‘Crown Antler’ plays with punchy metal influence and building vocal intensity to create a hauntingly delicate but punishing 3 and a half minutes. Held up against their peers, F.O.E.S seem to have the guts to go further than just the straight-forward rock barriers and create music that is as smouldering as it is ferocious and possesses more twists than most of their peers can even consider including.
As the EP rolls on, things get even more dark as ‘El Penumbra’ develops from smoky mystery into a devilishly beautiful wall of noise before ‘This Is Kingdom Come’ blasts out with a darkly ambient background and quintessentially British twang. The closing crescendo of the EP in the form of ‘No Sleepers Verse’ proves to be a highlight, as loose guitars blend effortlessly into building drums and spiralling riffs before everything plummets into oblivion and beyond. This is music that deserves your time and energy and will open itself in different ways each time you hear it.
F.O.E.S have the style, substance and identity to stand against whatever or whoever crosses their path. ‘Antecedence’ is a considerable step up in creativity and shows off vibrant, sprawling, big rock songs that demonstrate the strength of British music on show if you just search a little bit. Keeping one eye open on these boys would be a wise move indeed.
4/5
‘Antecedence’ by F.O.E.S is out now on Crooked Noise Records.
F.O.E.S links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp|YouTube
Words by Jack Rogers (@JackMRog)
