EP REVIEW: And The Gatten Army – Fernandhell

FERNANDHELL is a newbie in the scene, having only started making music last year. However, his experience in the industry goes all the way back to performing with his first band THE PEAWEES in the mid 90s. They created a total of three full-length studio albums and a handful of EPs before their inevitable hiatus. In the latter part of the decade, FERNANDHELL‘s Livio Montarese began work as a live music promoter, before revealing a one-off charity release in collaboration with MUDHONEY‘s Mark Arm. In more recent times, Montarese has made music with garage rockers KING MASTINO, before going solo for the first time in his career in the latter months of 2021, at which point he adopted the alias FERNANDHELL. This brings us to the present day, where his debut EP And The Gatten Army is due to be released with support from his new record label Go Down Records.

And The Gatten Army encompasses a lot of key musical influences, with PIXIES and old school R.E.M. at the helm. The inspiration for this body of work is “45 old Nick, trapped at home with six cats and one guitar.” As a result, fictional character ‘Nick’ has teamed up with his feline friends to create what is known as the Gatten Army. And The Gatten Army focuses on topics including “parts, points of view on a fictional world, love, disappointment and an endless repulsion for Mardi Gras“.

The Invisible Ones is the first track of this EP and it piques our attention immediately with some indistinct chatter in the background. A standout guitar riff leads the way before Montarese‘s signature vocals kick in. The instrumentals remind us of the early days of BLINK-182, with a rough and ready sound which is just so intriguing to the ear. Marceline is a little less memorable and unique. Saying this, there is no denying Montarese‘s musical talent. 99 has a bit more lasting power, with a punk-filled energetic riff taking the lead. This song is most definitely inspired by HUSKER DU, with bags of angst and attitude packed into this tiny three-minute track. Run, Teddy, Run is another hard-hitter on the EP.

FERNANDHELL definitely suits this fiery, rebellious music style, that’s for sure. It’s just a real shame that the songs don’t have much about them. The last track is Mardi Gras, which begins with a head bopping drum beat. We sense a DAVID BOWIE reference as the song goes on, with the lyrics “we could be heroes just for one day” being repeated throughout. By the end of Mardi Gras, we are just praying that this is going to end soon, with the instrumentals becoming dull and unimaginative.

This EP most definitely won’t be for everyone. Unless you are a fan of the 70s punk rock sound, we would highly suggest you stay away from this record. We were expecting big things here, but we were just left feeling disappointed and uninspired.

Rating: 4/10 

And The Gatten Army is out now via Go Down Records.

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