Review:

on 2012-03-29 mikeyserpico Said:

Rock signature guitars? Check. Long hair? Check. Obligatory Led Zeppelin band T-shirt? Check. Strutting onstage presence? Check. The requisite elements are here. In their time spent away, Vertis have perfected the mechanics needed to spark moshpit mayhem.

Now with their second EP "Loose Lips Sink Ships", the Scottish indie-rock outfit are unafraid of showing their influences and this follow up to "In My Defence" puts them on course for a game-changer. For the most part they eschew the limitations of retrograde UK guitar trends and draw inspiration from trans-Atlantic rock. The opening track 'Nothing Left to Say' is a motorised riffer, which has Gilliland-Patterson's sometimes shouted Scottish vocals pounding you over a veritable barrage of guitars and drums. As beautiful as it is harrowing, 'We Don't Need To Know' stabs its icy fingers into your heart with a nod towards Foo Fighters. On 'Over and Out' the confident rock quartet demonstrates their mastery of the quiet/loud dynamic. Listening to 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' is a dizzying experience which takes a lot out of you. Every chord and guitar riff is endlessly uplifting and the rhythm section enables every peak and lull to achieve its desired effect. 'A Simple Song (To Tell You How I Felt)' is a pace-dropping, Tom Petty-indebted slice of acoustic balladry.

With songs as good as this, a band shouldn't need to be fashionable, you shouldn't need a haircut, you shouldn't have to strut about all cocksure (but you get this anyway with Vertis); because in the end "Loose Lips Sink Ships" is substance over style. The mutt's nuts indeed.
Rating: 10/10