ALBUM REVIEW: Waded – Uzumaki
Just over a year after releasing their debut EP Square One, London-based band UZUMAKI are back, this time armed with their debut album Waded. If you’re into 90s-inspired music that is driven by grungy riffs and fast-paced guitars, then this album is for you. Waded is a fun and solid debut that will please any casual rock fan, however it does fall into the trap of many of its songs sounding the same.
Opening proceedings is the album’s eponymous barnstormer Waded. It’s a short but sweet opener that sets the tone for the rest of the record, and if there’s one thing to say about this album it’s that UZUMAKI aren’t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve. This song in particular would easily fit onto the Blue Album by WEEZER; the music has that fun and slick style, with punk/grunge sounding riffs adding to it. Heaven follows and keeps up with the driving and pounding riffs that once again feel straight out of the 90s that feel a little rough around the edges which gives it a nice DIY quality about it.
Lead single Scenes Of Beauty is easily the stand out track on the record. It offers a bit more quality musically, with the lead and rhythm guitar playing off each other in a great way before ending in a massive crescendo of dirty sounding riffs, conjuring images of sweaty and happy mosh pits in your mind whilst listening. Look Outside returns the album to its riff-based roots with a fast-paced style of playing which almost has a sort of early GREEN DAY influence to it which is always welcome. It’s a fun romp that will have you wanting to be jumping about in no time.
Change Of View at the midpoint of the record again feels firmly rooted in the 90s as this time it leaves that grungy type of music and opts for more of a Brit-Pop vibe. Frustratingly though, it does tease by almost sounding a little different before it just stops despite it feeling like it could offer a little more, which makes it a bit jarring. Following this song is Head Up which serves as another highlight. It’s a track that gets to the point with no nonsense riffs that will definitely induce fairly big mosh pits at their live shows. Downtown (Riding Around) is a fun track that has a chorus that will be great to sing along with, however the guitars on this track in particular do start to sound recycled from other songs, which brings a little more frustration.
Reaching the latter part of Waded, we get to the song Cold Feet – another track that wears its influence on its sleeve. The guitar notes that open the song and feature strongly throughout aren’t too dissimilar to tracks such as There She Goes by THE LA’S which is a great song in its own right and is nice to see a young band being inspired by it. Disguise Your Mindset is the album’s penultimate track that once again gets the juices flowing before the record bows out with a good-natured punk style song. Bringing the album to a close is Catapult that aims high but ultimately is a frustrating end to the album as once again the recycled riffs return and bring the album to a close that you wish could be just a bit more satisfying.
Whilst this album is fun at times, it is quite a frustrating listen. It starts off very strong as it smashes through the first few songs but ultimately ends up falling a little short which is a huge shame. Frontman Alex Cheung does a great job on vocals and suits the fast-paced nature of the record, and there’s a lot of energy from the band, but you get the feeling that these songs will suit a live setting much more than listening to them through some headphones. If this is your kind of schtick then you’ll love this album but for the more casual listener then it might be a tough record to stick with all the way through. Hopefully whatever UZUMAKI release next offers a bit more variation.
Rating: 6/10
Waded is set for release on September 13th via Everything Sucks Music.
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