ALBUM REVIEW: Ubiquity – Haunt The Woods
Alternative rock quartet HAUNT THE WOODS have released their second full-length record Ubiquity. The band, formed by members hailing from the likes of Devon, Cornwall, and Plymouth, have been praised for their music that’s been described as ‘timeless’ and beyond their shared younger years. They’ve been influenced, and compared to, the likes of MUSE and QUEEN, which is a bold statement to make, but when listening to this album it’s something that you can immediately agree on with their use of theatrical and psychedelic rock, the dramatic vocals, and the ability to transport you to other worlds. You hear their influence, and so much more.
Opening track Fever Dream is apt as titles go, as the band start things off with a countdown before going into a melodic rock style where the above-mentioned influences come screaming out at you. It genuinely sounds like the love child of MUSE and QUEEN; with the theatrics, the vocals, the use of a string section, you find yourself mouth agape at every waking moment. Furthermore, you find your mind goes racing to a range of fantasy films from childhood where one can easily imagine the song being a part of a soundtrack of movies like Stardust and Treasure Planet. What a way to open an album.
Moving onto Gold, the MUSE influence continues to show with low sound effects that swell and shift into an alternative rock track that could very easily have come out of the early 00s. It’s calming and ethereal, with the use of humming that screams of Matt Bellamy – it’s clear where HAUNT THE WOODS‘ talents lie.
However, it’s one thing to have an influence and use it to create something entirely unique to you, and it’s another when it comes across as being a clone of another artist. There are moments, as heard in The Line Pt II and Now Is Our Time, where the songs genuinely sound like they could be a lost MUSE track, or that they actually have Bellamy singing in the studio with them, which might make you want to go and listen to MUSE as opposed to hanging around with HAUNT THE WOODS.
But it’s clear that the dramatics and powerful ballads suit them, especially the ones that transport you to a different world and leaves you in a trance. Save Me, for example, has soft guitar strumming and husky vocals that are then joined by a swell of violins and distorted screeching that shifts the song into an intense direction. There’s also the stunning title track that has a beautiful ethereal vibe that one could compare to M83’s Wait.
Ultimately, Ubiquity is an album that has beautiful theatrical moments but could stand to be less MUSE and more HAUNT THE WOODS. They clearly know what they excel at in terms of genre and sounds, all they need to do is be more confident in being themselves instead of a clone. They have the talent, it’s time to fully show it off.
Rating: 7/10
Ubiquity is out now via Spinefarm Records.
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