Sleazy, hedonistic rock ‘n’ roll may seem fairly outdated in 2016, but it still exists. There’s even a place for it when it’s executed well. Hull’s Indigo Bones set out to follow this long-established formula, and if they don’t exactly bring it kicking and screaming into the 21st century, they at least make it as enjoyable as possible.

Though they compare themselves to garage rockers Jack White and Royal Blood, they manage to avoid sounding like a tribute act by not simply emulating these artists, bringing to mind ’60s blues-rock and garage-punk, with a smattering of ’70s glam, more than any modern influence.

The glam rock factor is especially prevalent on the EP’s stand-out track, ‘Delicate’, which sacrifices some of the thick guitars present throughout the rest of the EP to create a well-structured, if basic, rock song with an incredibly catchy chorus. A pre-chorus that slots neatly after each verse gives way to an a capella refrain of ‘delicate, delicate’ in such a cool, effortless way.

The other tracks on this album don’t quite live up to ‘Delicate’, but ‘Vertical Sleep’ and ‘Elastic Patient’ make good use of the band’s endearing energy and incorporate some decent riffs. Indigo Bones also make good use of having two vocalists, with this fact never coming off as gimmicky or over-used where it easily could.

The only real misstep is ‘Silver Nosebleeds’, which despite some interesting prog-rock leanings comes off as ridiculous because of the overly gruff vocals that plague it.

Indigo Bones don’t do anything on this EP that’s particularly original either, and they’re definitely a band who wear their influences on their sleeves. However, this is never a problem due to the level of energy and enthusiasm they show for their craft. It’s not perfect, but fans of Royal Blood and Jack White looking for a fun, throwaway listen could do much worse than Indigo Bones.

3/5

‘Indigo Bones’ EP Indigo Bones is released on December 16th.

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Words by Alan Cunningham (@funeral_polis)