Album Review: A Record Of My Own Self Doubt by Resuscitators

In my opinion London based four piece Resuscitators are the most underrated band in the UK. That's a big statement, there are far too many bands who don't get the love that their talent and work ethic deserves. Playing their own rambunctious brand of skate punk with big choruses and vocals coming from everywhere, I first became aware of them back in 2013 when they supported Off With Their Heads at The Fighting Cocks in Kingston. Since then they put out one EP and have played the odd show here and there but haven't been the most active. Back in October I had the pleasure of seeing them support The Bombpops at New Cross Inn where they announced they were working on some new tunes. They weren't telling lies as on February 9th the band released a brand new single titled A Record Of My Own Self Doubt along with another song named The River. This got me all excited and I couldn't wait to give it a review.

I think I'm correct in remembering that A Record Of My Own Self Doubt was played when Resuscitators played The Bombpops show. The recorded version begins with a short audio clip before the song starts properly. Opening with a great drumbeat and a rumbling bassline, it's not long before a massive gang vocal style chorus brings the song truly to life. Opening with a gang vocal chorus was a genius move as I immediately wanted to sing along with the band. This leads into a fast paced verse in which bassist and lead singer Matt Barnwell's stellar vocals storms ahead. This is that rambunctious skate punk that mentioned earlier. Another feature of the song I just loved was the breakdown – it builds with some great harmonies, towards the end of the song – and when all the music drops out, we are treated to an a cappella finale. The track is about struggling to deal with anxieties and wondering if things will ever change.

The River also starts with some gang vocals to ease you into the song. It's a song about feeling despair with everything that's going on around you and feeling like you want to give up on everything. There is more of a serious and harder tone on The River compared to A Record Of My Own Self Doubt. This really helps to lay down the foundations for the mood that Resuscitators are aiming to convey. At times Kyle Larkin's drumming is, simply put, ferocious. It's like those drums said he wasn't wearing cool shoes and they needed to pay the price for such a heinous insult. The whole song is a great showcase for what a good group of musicians Resuscitators are with the entire band being able to show off their skills.

These two songs are an excellent taster for the full length that Resuscitators are working on which should, fingers crossed, be released in 2018. Resuscitators are a band that you should not be sleeping on, they're so bloody good.

Stream and download A Record Of My Own Self Doubt here: https://resuscitators.bandcamp.com/

Like Resuscitators here: https://www.facebook.com/resuscitatorsband

This review was written by Colin Clark.