Right, what have we here? More indie rock, this time from Bristol based 3 piece band The Following Announcement. Fortunately, this band manages to rise above the insipid droning and tiresome guitar histrionics prevalent in that genre.
First things first, if you are going to go loud then you should do it right. For that you need a decent drummer and Danny Watts fills that role admirably, giving you the feeling that he has been playing stadiums all his life. Then you should also have songs that the fans can punch the air too. Songs like the opening track "If the Ink Runs Dry" and "Take My Hand" tick that box. Big guitars? Got them too. Ok, some of the other songs only just about manage to bring life to the mundane but this is album is not meant to be a poetry recital. However, there is no doubting the energy of this band's performance and they certainly appear to have allocated a lot more time to their music than to their haircuts.
The Following Announcement are a distinct improvement on what we have come to expect of the indie rock genre even if they are distinctly reminiscent of mainstream American bands of years gone by. Mind you, given that a lot of people have trouble remembering yesterday, that should not hold them back unduly. A promising debut nonetheless.