The Immediate – Manbuoy

Indie Rock

66%

Generally the overpopulated indie scene is stuck in a loop. Bands end up being inspired by their contemporaries and they all just keep emulating each other, leaving little room for growth. With their debut album, Welsh band The Immediate has taken a step back to look at the origins of indie and have drawn influence from the genre’s precursors. ‘Slow Song’ has The Cure written all over it, the lengthy epic ‘Seagull’ is reminiscent of The Stone Roses, while ‘Yoko’ has the kind of energy you’d expect from The White Stripes. Lyrically it boasts the kind of relatable working class songwriting that made Arctic Monkeys so special, most notably on ‘What’s the Matter Kevin Jones?’, but Manbuoy‘s real ace card is its spectacular bass lines. By far and away the best you’ll hear this year!

There’s a lot here for you to enjoy, however it does sound a tad thrown together at times. There are a couple of dreary ballads and reverb heavy excursions into psychedelica that feel very out-of-place, and the vocals aren’t up to the same standard as the music. I appreciate the desire to diversify, but it leaves the record feeling rather inconsistent. There are plenty of filler tracks to contend with but the occasional flashes of brilliance more than make up for them. The band feel on the cusp of a “eureka” moment but can’t quite get past the final hurdle. Manbuoy is just a rough sketch of what The Immediate have the potential to be, but if the band work on developing their strengths then we may soon have a welcome breath of fresh air to Britain’s indie scene.