EP REVIEW: No Vacancy Hotel – Krooked Tongue
Estranged rejects and misunderstood youths gather around a campfire, hand in hand, whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears whilst the carnal festivities’ soundtrack, No Vacancy Hotel, spins in the foreground. The debut EP from Bristol rockers KROOKED TONGUE takes on a life of its own with its seamless blend of ROYAL BLOOD and BAND OF SKULLS influence. The power trio’s electric live performances landed them slots playing alongside DINOSAUR PILE-UP and TURBOWOLF pre-pandemic, and the emergence of their thick, heavy fuzz tones in No Vacancy Hotel will only serve to solidify permanent residencies on indie festival bills and alternative music line-ups.
Every band has that ‘thing’ that defines them, one word to conjure up a universe of sensations. Opening track Vampyre doesn’t just lap against the shore, it cascades with a tidal wave of suffocating fuzz from guitarist Dan Smith as bassist and vocalist Oli Rainsford swaggers in with that ‘treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen’ attitude. His vocal style oozes seductively and causes the temperature to slowly creep up.
Latest single Freaky Love employs a more playful, funkier edge in Harry Pritchard’s drums. Smith’s guitar twinkles like a hidden gem, underpinning the vocal melodies whilst bursting through the cracks every so often so as not to overstep its mark and oversaturate its tantalising tease. Celebrating the weird and wonderful in individualism, the lyrics speak of a place “to go when you’re being too loud/But to be loud’s to be vogue when there’s no one around”, reminding us that there will always be a welcoming and accepting crowd for everyone if you know where to look.
The spectrum of light and shade on the EP is executed impeccably, not least on Swarm’s depressive, moody vocal tones that’ll magnetise two wayward teenagers into falling in lust with each other from amidst a cigarette smoke-filled room, finding comfort in their common sense of hopelessness and impending doom. Alternative guitar solos dance through the ether on title track No Vacancy Hotel, the JACK WHITE eccentricity winking not-so-subtly in the direction of the fourth wall.
Having taken elements from all eight corners of the alternative indie cuboid, KROOKED TONGUE set out to smear their name across every available canvas and have used No Vacancy Hotel to do so. Whilst the EP may resonate overwhelming with the angst-consumed youths, as a debut EP it is still one many others may only gawk at in the hopes that the blueprints they’ve laid out may one day be misplaced and fall into the hands of those hoping to follow in their shadow.
Rating: 8/10
No Vacancy Hotel is set for release on February 11th via self-release.
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