Musical phonograffitti!
Oxford's hard rocking band, The Treat, come storming out with what is the usual 'awkward second album' after their great debut, 'In Technicolor' a couple of years back. 'Phonography' is a good follow up album, and when you have already delivered a musically strong debut, it's difficult to know what to do next. Do you follow the same formula with another ten hard-rocking '70's influenced classic rock tracks, or do you branch out and take a few risks? This is obviously a questioned that came rather easily to Mike Hyder, who is not only the singer but the driving force behind the band.
First song, 'Fanfare For The King' has an extremely long intro, which is a theme that tends to run through this album. Sometimes you wish bands would just get on with the song, however in this case it only adds to the charm of the band. This is a band that tips it's hat off to classic guitar-led rock of the '70's and '80's, and in the first song it kicks into a very Black Sabbath-esque stomper, with thick guitar riffs and a slight Ozzy-like vocal. The beat speeds up a bit more for the more stoner rock song, 'Make You Crawl' that nods it's head towards the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age mixed with Soundgarden. 'The Deathday Parties' has a nipple-hardening good beat whilst the song is a slower and more gentle number.
Mike's vocals turn very Robert Plant in, 'Bolivian Diary' that is pure Led Zeppelin whilst being sprinkled with political and socially aware lyrics. 'Roaming' is one of those songs that is simple but very successful. With it's keyboards and melodic guitars it's an instantly likeable song and one of the strongest here, which just goes to show that amongst all of the technically superior songs that have been layered and well crafted, it is the simplistic melodies and happy-go-lucky feel that makes this song so strong.
Next we have a song that I am undecided on whether it is a very good song or a big and unsuccessful risk. It's an acoustic song called, 'Meadowland'which has clever lyrics surrounding famous characters from nursery rhymes being stuck into days world. Like, " There was an old woman that lived in a shoe // She had so many bills, she didn't know what to do // Developers came and bought her home // Now her memories are rubble and stone" sings Mike. Things then turn to classic old school blues for 'Haitian Mourning Dress', and although the song is adequate, the problem that I have with lot of blues music is that it sometimes sounds like my old walkman when the batteries were on their way out. It's a slow plod of a song that is pure blues by numbers, and possibly nothing more.
The tempo raises up with the shuck and jive of 'Too Late' which is a little like The Black Crowes, before the chunky guitar riffs of 'Clutching At Jagged Glass' which is more like the band Clutch with added psychedelic breaks. 'Effervescence' is a chilled out mid-tempo instrumental before the no brainer and slightly bizarre song about the singers cat in, 'Black Cat Whites' which is a little bit like The Eels doing a slow Zeppelin before quick riff-ridden flashes of pure rock heaven. Again it's another of those songs that I'm left wondering whether or not it is a good idea. Apparently this was included to give a lyrical balance, though I'm not sure that it is more a case of over self-indulgence. The low and more rounded song of 'Erased' finishes up the album.
It's clear that with this second album, The Treat, have looked to break out of the box exploring a little more musically and stretching their wings to be a little more than a Led Zeppelin wannabe band. The music has a fair greater range, and as a whole the album is better produced showing a real maturity. The Treat know that they will never be a fashionable band, but it's clear that that is something that Mike has never cared much for as he travels on his musical journey stopping of to take in the sights of other genres periodically.
Anyone who loved 'In Technicolor' will not be disappointed, and along the way 'Phonography' is likely to pick up more than a couple of new fans. It's a good slice of classic rock and that can never be a bad thing.