I switch on the stereo and listen to the soft sound of sweet, slightly psychedelic, grungy guitar picking that interlinks well with a smooth bassline. The vocals crackle in, they have a weird 80’s feel, but that makes them quite interesting, it almost sounds out of tune and is quite chilling. The music slowly climbs up like a kite blowing in a strong wind. Then comes the storm. This is Paris In The Spring.
Track one Spanish mixes a range of genres and has nice emotional build up, with hints of Creed, Marilyn Manson, Him and Hundred Reasons. It is grungy, muddy and heavy but uses nice melodies. After the first verse, with its chilling and spine tingling picking riff and smooth spooky vocals, the heavy side of Paris In The Spring rears its head and to be honest I felt it was a bit early. The guitar kicks up the level three fold and the vocals suddenly break into rampant screams, the trashy drums kick around the screaming guitar melody like a game of killer rugby. After this brief detour into the dark side of Paris In The Spring we are let back down into a chilled out bridge with ghostly whispers and again, eerie and emotional vocals. This riff builds up nicely as lead Vocalist Andy Saiker spits out the words I feel you, I feel you over and over before crashing into another heavier and catchy melody. I felt it could have maybe continued to build up even more and like the kick in at the beginning, the end was a bit earlier than I expected but it had nice dynamics and use of emotion.
Second Track Leucoma is softer and more grudge than metal. The vocals are slightly lazy sounding, almost so laid back he sounds like he is drunk, is strangely catchy and at times I don’t think he puts in enough emotion to make a point with the lyrics. The guitar riff is catchy and attention-grabbing, holding the melody well and builds nicely to the chorus again as the song builds it gets heavier. The vocal line is catchy and the screaming works nicely in this song but again, at times is weak and almost out of tune. It does have a weird unique twist to it and even though it sounds rough and at times like a drunk ramble, it holds your attention like a delusional preacher screaming his message across the street.
Track three has a funky and catchy start using spoken word to great effect with very unusual guitar and bass riffs that interlock nicely and show good dynamics. IT changes, building slowly to a nice guitar solo, before breaking down into great picking riff and once more building in emotion again into a crashing, screaming circus of heavy madness. The instruments work well with the singing and screamed vocals. This song has a more emo feel and shows a diverse side to Paris In The Spring. The guitar riffs are well written and link well with the drums, it is emotion fuelled and catchy music.
Musically, the band arent overly original but very tight and work well as a team. The vocals are unique and individual, but at times I don’t think they are used to best effect. If the band can continue to mix its influences and dynamics, the building up of its emotion to highs and lows, moving the listener to this great effect then Paris In The Spring have great potential. I would like to see the vocals be a bit more imaginative at times, and used to their full potential, this could give them a real weapon in the fight to stand above the rest.
Overall (2.5 / 5)
Review by Gaz
