The Avenues - "O.S.T.M" single review
Introspective, passionate with a real tight musicianship
"It doesn't have to hurt at all, if you take another happy pill!" Tom screams through the mix at the end of the first verse.
I've always thought that indie can often shoot itself in the foot by replacing passion with smart and detached writing, it's never been a genre to make me feel all that hard, but often it's one where some of the foremost writers in their field can make me think and cross the bounds into sufficiently reasonable storytellers. Early Alex Turner, for example, was superb at wordplay and satire of the working class' sesh culture, but he always felt removed from the emotion. Although I could admire his literary craft and the musical prowess of their brand of indie infused garage-punk, I struggled getting invested in what he was saying, mostly because I felt he was never invested in what he was saying.
Hull-based 4-piece indie act The Avenues, on the other hand, does not fall into this trap. Tom, who writes the lyrics, has crafted a song about coming of age and learning to compromise and accept how things will be. Lyrically this feels more like a Strokes song than an Arctic Monkey's songs, "I never grew to love your arrogance, but you always wore it well" and "If you ask me to die, I say 'If I have too" are lyrics which could have been ripped from Julian Casablanca's debut record. It's clever, but not so overbearingly clever that it can't organically ripple with emotional and relatability. However, upon first glance at the song, the comparisons between Tom and (early career) Alex's voice appear evident: both having Northern accents, both quite often talk-sing (although Tom is a better singer than early Turner) and both are fantastic writers. But musically, this feels more like Catfish and the Bottlemen influenced track than an Arctic Monkey one.
They've packed this song with explosive chorus, a very melodious lead guitar, a stellar drummer who knows his restraint and although it's hard to make out exactly what the bass is playing, you can definitely feel its presence and the weight it adds to the track, maybe its something which could be more prominent in the mix. I also feel a fuzz pedal from one of the members could go a long way for the breakdown of the song.
A trap I hope that The Avenues do not fall into, as so many indie bands have before, is the failure to balance the fine line of changing too much and remaining to similar. I am really excited that their development and transition into adult life will bring a real nice maturity to their sound, but at the moment, I am more than happy to stay in this period for a little while before wishing a band's early adulthood away. There's always time for that later.
This is a solid introspective and energetic effort from The Avenues, even allowing a bit more time to have a sweet instrumental passage in it. But I would have to say 'Haven't got a prayer' was a better release in my opinion as it rattled with the brink of adulthood excitement that The Avenues excel at so much and was a bit more refreshing and punchier as a single. After seeing many live shows of this lot, I would recommend the Reggae-infused track that I can't remember the name of as the next single as it would add a bit more dimension to your studio discography without losing that Avenues identity.
If the comparisons I've made are anything to go by, The Avenues are looking up to having a stellar and defining first record which will be hard to live up to, but whatever the case, these guys are definitely near the forefront of Hull's blossoming indie scene. You never know, they may even be Hull's long overdue breakthrough indie-act. We all know Sheffield, Leeds, and Manchester have had their fair share.
4.5/5 - Highly recommend for fans of Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Vida Cult, The Cartels.