Edgarville are one of the more unique acts in the UK’s punk rock scene. With just an acoustic guitar, some throaty vocals and a drum kit, Edgarville have been impressing audiences all over the United Kingdom and Europe. In the New Year the duo have a new album titled Fingerprints and Handwriting coming out and I had the opportunity to check it out early.
The opening track is named Extensions and starts out with a
gentle guitar riff before singer Ed's booming vocals begin. It's the vocal on
this track, and indeed the whole album, that really help the songs grab all of
your attention. The second track Whatever That Feels Like has a very
interesting song structure Whereas most songs build towards a big chorus
Edgarville have switched things up and have a big, loud verse and a soft, quiet
chorus. The gang vocals at the end of the song are superb and have some
fantastic lyrics - "We're All Different, We Each Have A Struggle, We All
Need Help, Cos We're All In Trouble." Corn is another song that starts out
slowly with Ed's gruff vocals adding all kinds of heart and emotion to the
song. Eventually, as you might expect, the tempo of the song picks up and
develops into a bit of a pop song. I could definitely see this being a single from
the album. It must be a real crowd pleaser live with its whoa-oh moments. Song
number four, Cous Cous, is the song that really stood out to me when I first
listened to Fingerprints and Handwriting and is the song that stood out when I
saw Edgarville at Book Yer Ane Fest. The anger in Ed's voice at the beginning
of the songs adds something different from the previous track - showing a nice
bit of variety in Edgarville's songwriting.
Oscar has somewhat of a stop start beginning before it
really gets going. After that it is one of the more straightforward songs on
the album with another big vocal performance. The sixth song, Thoughtless
serves as a musical interlude. It features a great string arrangement that
really carries you through the song. Smile Emoticon is a short song where Ed's
vocals really carry the melody of the song. It's about having the ability to
recognise when you are talking too much and sometimes just listening instead.
Hugh is another instrumental song where Ed shows off his amazing ability with a
guitar, I'm not someone who is usually too keen on instrumental songs but this
track really captivated me and shows off that punk musicians can really play
their instruments very well. After the instrumentals the album really bursts
back into life with the song The Flow. Ed's unmistakable vocals start the song
off with some real force on another of the albums stand-out tracks. It's about
the decisions you make in your life and attempting to go with 'the flow' no
matter if it's good or bad. Nice Dad feel incredibly stripped back, even for
this album. I like how the drumming stands out on the track despite the softer
feel to the whole song. The breakdown in the middle of the song is excellent;
love the raw whoa-ohs. Normally a song would build towards ending with that
kind of moment so it was especially cool for it to be thrown into the middle of
the track.
Like A Wave is more of traditional sounding folk punk number
that builds towards a big acapella finish. I imagine that this song is
absolutely cracking in a live setting with that finish. The song is about it
being okay to mess things up from time to time and learning to forgive
yourself. This is another standout track on Fingerprints and Handwriting. The
penultimate track is named Actions is another fully instrumental song. An
electric guitar is used as well as the introductions of some strings for the
first time on the album. Fingerprints and Handwriting is completed with the
song Crabs In A Bucket. At almost seven minutes long it's a lengthy track but
never feels like it drags. There are plenty of highs and lows throughout as
Edgarville show off what talented musicians and songwriters they are. Crabs In
A Bucket is about the struggles of growing as a person. The lyrics in the chorus
especially grabbed my attention on my first listen of the song. A very strong
way to finish a great album.
Stream and download Fingerprints & Handwriting here: https://edgarville.bandcamp.com/
Like Edgarville here: https://www.facebook.com/EdgarvilleUK
Stream and download Fingerprints & Handwriting here: https://edgarville.bandcamp.com/
Like Edgarville here: https://www.facebook.com/EdgarvilleUK
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