Translucent, yet solid
Intervurt are a 5 piece band from London that have already made some inroads with support slots to the likes of the Strokes and the Raconteurs and festival slots at O2 Wireless and Guilfest to name but two.
This is their debut release and first impressions of opening track ‘Translucent’ are favourable; it’s distinctly alt-rock with a dark edge. You can’t fail to notice that it’s very well produced and is gloriously full sounding. The harmonies are nicely layered but not overly elaborate, where as the vocal lead (courtesy of Paul O'Keeffe) is strong and melodic. Managing to be both catchy and engaging this is a strong opening salvo.
‘No Name’ follows and plays on the dark edge further with some 80s influenced synths and almost Bauhaus style vocals. It breaks from a minimalist verse into a sweeping chorus and adds another string to Intervurt’s impressive bow. ‘Suffering’ is more of a straight rock tune but has real energy and never loses that cutting edge; a solid tune with some simple but effective chord progressions.
The final track on the EP is ‘City of Moods’ and as you might expect, opens as a more sombre and atmospheric affair but that belies what is to follow as it breaks into a fairly anthemic chorus. For a debut offering this is very impressive and although the market they are pitching into is highly competitive Intervurt would appear to have more than enough about them to compete.