Mr Shiraz
Ever wondered what you get when you put seven people in a band with musical influences that range from Beethoven to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers to Guns N Roses with some Weezer thrown in for the fun of it? Well, call off the search as Mr Shiraz can answer all such musical queries. Forget trying to label this group and put them neatly in one musical category as you would probably have a better chance of Marilyn Manson doing a duet with Britney Spears whilst backed by McFly. But who needs labels? Let the music speak for itself, Mr Shiraz certainly does just that.
Musical influences flow rapidly out of every beat of every track on Mr Shiraz's album. 'End of Days' vocally is eerily reminiscent of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Anthony Kledis in the days before 'Californication' and is a fast paced, ferociously charged song. Initially Mr Shiraz's style seems quite peculiar. Abstaining from anything that has a hint of convention in it, their music is unlike anything around at the moment. With guitars thrashing and drums hammering away it takes you a couple of seconds to comprehend what the third instrument actually was that you just hear. Surely it couldn't have been what you thought? But bizarrely enough you are not hearing things, that really was a trumpet competing with an electric guitar in a bid to win the rock crown and on this performance, my moneys on the trumpet to win! Throughout the entire album there is almost a sub plot to each track as the battle between trumpet and guitar rages and yet they are able to equally compliment one another and really add a certain quality to the songs.
With beats that zoom along relentlessly and brass accompaniments, there is a ska sound to the group; a sound that they seem well equipped to carry off to perfection. That said though, with so many other musical influences vying for attention throughout, Mr Shiraz fail to be pigeonholed into one defined style and they are all the better for it. On top of all this, Mr Shiraz are also content to inject some comedy into their work. 'Doggy Catcher' is both lyrically and musically, a fun song that undoubtedly must be a request at every live gig the band plays, if only to hear each member impersonating dog howls. From this, Mr Shiraz then move effortlessly to a song like 'Auntie Mary' which is catchy enough to be uplifting and yet has a deeper meaning to it.
There is certainly more to Mr Shiraz then initially catches the eye and you are certainly in for a roller coaster ride of fast thrills throughout this album. But then what would you really expect from a band who describe one of their member's roles as being backing vocals/'dance operative'. With a band like this the only thing you can do is simply let the fun and frolics begin.