ALBUM REVIEW: What We Fear The Most – Attic Theory

Liverpool alternative groove rock band ATTIC THEORY have enjoyed ever-growing success since they released The Sign Of An Active Mind EP and won the Best New Band award at Planet Rock Radio’s The Rocks 2020 Awards back in 2020. The six-piece have since toured with the likes of DEAD MAN’S WHISKEY and TANTRIC, and now with their debut album What We Fear The Most they’re ready to bring their alternative groove to the mainstream.

Across 11 songs, the band take the audience on a journey. From the grungy opener Violent Delight, to the slow-paced groove of Tattooed Heart that quickly transforms into a mid-paced rock song, to the mid-tempo Papier-Mâché, the album hits the ground running. Whilst it does dip in energy a bit during Tapestry, which is sonically similar to Papier-Mâché, this is rectified by the upbeat Narrow Lines.

What We Feat The Most is very good, but it does fall into some issues that befall most debut albums. Especially at first, you could say it plays it safe by sticking to an alternative rock sound, although there is a nice acoustic-turned-rock track called Million Little Things which breaks the sound up and shows that ATTIC THEORY have some surprises up their sleeve. That track signals a change in pace for the band, as they suddenly come to life on the last few songs on the album. Whilst their mid-paced alternative rock numbers are nice, the band excel on the fast-paced, lively rock songs, especially Sweet Parasite, which verges slightly into heavy rock.

All this does mean the pacing of the album is a bit scattered though, but then again, this is the band’s debut album. It is still early days for them and their unique sound shows that they have a bright future ahead of them, especially if they flesh out the newer sounds they sometimes hint at on this record.

Overall, despite some hiccups along the way, What We Fear The Most is a fantastic debut. It showcases a wide and diverse sound from an exciting band in modern rock music who are at their best when they pull the rug out from under the listener, such as in the fantastic Million Little Things. Throughout the album it is clear that they are passionate about their music and really love what they are doing and that alone makes ATTIC THEORY a name to watch out for, as they surely have a bright future ahead of them.

Rating: 8/10

What We Fear The Most is out now via ThunderGun Records.

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