The Relatives - 'Now Or Ever' (Spank)
4/5
By: Toby L
Self-emblazoned 'Scouse scumrockers', your initial worries may prove to run and reside in a nearby open-space in order to avoid such listening-matter, but prepare yourselves for a bountiful shock with The Relatives' debut; OK, a band we've not been accustomed to formally by the conventions of the airwaves or the major-label bigwigs, don't hold such conformities against the act in question: hard-edged rock with both aligned musicianship and such untamed tunefulness, The R's are a well-honed emergent talent.
With their debut-album, 'Now Or Ever', as produced by former Manics knobs-twiddler Greg Haver, the quartet merge a melting-pot of inspirations into one fully-loaded cannon before exploding the bugger all over your stereo; Pearl Jam on the title-track, minor Rage-isms within 'Bite On The Hook', whose chorus explodes into something truly festival-pleasing, and a Queens of The Stone Age bass-rigidity on pulverising opener, 'Everybody's Cynical'. And just when you think for a perturbing moment that they're to slow the produce to a lighter-in-the-air slumber via the dreamy guitars of 'Found My Place' - akin to Feeder in a restrained moment - a defiantly roaring bridge-chorus combo lurches out and hooks you in, featuring the full Foo Fighters' bombast and focussed time-changing precision thing.
But, for all the name-referencing, there's enough exploratory means on show here to unveil that The Relatives aren't merely serving the beaten-track of rising wanna-be's; the feedback-crying 'Trevor's Influence' rides in every direction, one moment chugging restrictively, the next blasting and hurtling towards you at a frivolous, frightful pace. And, just like any act of merit, they reserve the widescreen, soft-heavy hybrid 'til the end, 'Miss Collector' showcasing all that's just charmed you for the past forty-seven minutes.
A new name to your eyes and ears quite possibly, but one that deserves to be a life-time companion, with 'Now or Ever', The Relatives may well have recorded one of the most worryingly overlooked rock albums of 2002. But it's not too late to start making up for lost time.
Artists in this article: The Relatives
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