Johnny Foreigner - Arcs Across The City (Best Before)
4/5
By: Sian Norris
Birmingham 3-piece Johnny Foreigner's Arcs Across The City treats the listener to 6 tracks and twenty minutes of jangly guitars, hectic drums and shouty vocals, creating a gorgeous mix of loud post-pop. Frenetic melodies and loads of feedback are the staple here, mixed with a ska style vocal that answers back between the male lead singer and the girl.
The min-album opens with 'Champagne Girls I Have Known', a track which ably sets up the style for the rest of the record. Big drums and bigger guitars play as boy and girl answer back over the mic, whilst the other instruments skip around building up layers of sound to create a noisy and hectic, but wholly brilliant pop song. The tune seems full of angles, as it moves into the rollicking intro of the standout tune, 'Suicide Pact - Yeah?', a perfect loud guitar pop tune complete with hand claps and yet more catchy vocal exchanges.
The only potential failing of Arcs Across The City is that around five tracks in things start to feel repetitive, even if it never stops being catchy. However, final song 'This Band is Killing Me' admirably changes the tempo and moves the record away from being to homogenous. With minimal beginnings and a lilting drum beat, the vocals move from being whispery to full of aching, whilst the drums and guitar move the listener between slow and quiet to fast and loud. It's a great departure from the rest of the record.
'Arcs Across The City' as a whole, despite there being not much of it, is a great pop record that should soundtrack much thrashing around many dancefloors. If it's anything to go by, don't bet against Johnny Foreigner hitting the big time.
Stream three tracks from 'Arcs Across The City' HERE.
Artists in this article: Johnny Foreigner
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment