Above Them: Water Lane

Artist: Above Them
Title: Water Lane
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 18th September 2015
Reviewed By: Toby Walkley

With two previous albums to their name, as well as years of touring experience, Yorkshire-based three-piece Above Them return with their latest album Water Lane.

Opener Theories Of Planned Behaviour is only a minute long, playfully lulling the listener in with its stripped back guitar and vocal approach.  It leaves you wondering where the sound will go next, and happily for us punk fans, second track Cutting Loose lets fly with the whole band involved. It's a solid little punk number, with well-considered, sharp lead guitar lines that add an extra layer to the sound.

Too Little, Too Late keeps the tempo up, while keeping a nice balance between simple verses and strong-layered chorus sections.  The guitars here sound especially huge, and there's a nice honesty to singer Oli Wood's vocals, here and on other tracks that I like to see in an indie/punk record. While the vocals don't sound overtly British, they're not overly American either. There are some great vocal harmonies on offer here too, which add a real shine to the production of the album.

Sink Or Gin has a great driving riff at its heart that's definitely punk but has a definite indie quality as well, reminiscent of vintage Weller in The Jam. Again there's a rich chorus section that not only gels well with the riff but also takes the track up a notch into seriously catchy territory.  

The River is a brooding number, slower in tempo and with a thick blanket of rhythm guitar that draws everything together. There's a hint of late 1990s/early 2000s punk rock here and in other songs, not overly sweet or dark. It's more a salted-caramel for the ear that takes the listener back to their favourite punk and indie bands.

This vibe continues on Old Friend, my favourite track on the album, with an opening riff that Matt Skiba could probably claim a royalty on if he came from the Lars Ulrich school of copyright, but happily he's too much of a gent for that. That's a good thing for us too because it's a cracking little song, chock full of angst and grit. It feels like the band really firing on all cylinders.

It's worth me making a note on the production here too. There's definitely a tendency in recent punk rock and indie records to sugar coat, for want of a better expression. This is particularly true of vocals, where parts are often overly tracked and harmonised. Something about this just doesn't sit right with me. A lot of modern three-piece bands sound like a five-piece, minimum, on record.   Happily, that's not even slightly the case here. The production is tight and well balanced, giving the songs a real feel and hook but the finished result still sounds real and honest, as if you were listening to a live take by three guys in a band. To my ears at least, this is exactly how it should be, and hats off to Above Them for achieving it.

Closing number Dying Wasn't Good Enough is a fitting finish to proceedings, once again swelling into an impressively catchy chorus that stays with you well after the music ends.

All in all, an impressive album, with many more great songs packed between the few I've highlighted.  The songwriting is sharp and well honed, nothing seems fussy or over long, and like a tin of Ronseal for the social media generation, Above Them do exactly what they say in their 'about' section. Great stuff.