Drawing members out of the ashes of several local acts, Melbourne-based rock outfit Sounds Of Sirus formed in late 2009, and have spent the last couple of years gigging around the scene, writing songs and refining their sound.
Having drummed themselves up a bit of a buzz in the underground scene, the five-piece entered Basin Studios with Matt D’Arcy, resulting in their debut E.P. Singularity.
The opening track Day By Name is by far one of the EP’s harder hitting efforts, with the guitars upfront and in your face. But while the song does boast a bit of muscle, it’s not at the expense of the underlying melodic structure that flows from the verses and comes out in all its hooked glory in the choruses. Sounding in part like a cross between Dead Letter Circus and early Karnivool, but without the overly progressive and heavier elements, Sounds Of Sirus know their way around a good song with strong melodies – even if it does take a few listens for the character of the song to really reveal itself.
I Won’t Be Listening doesn’t stray too far from the feel and vibe of the opener in the musical sense with its dominating delayed guitar effects, but stands out as one of the E.P.’s stand out cuts with a powerful performance from Josh Day with his inspired and daring vocal lines, while Singularity is perhaps one of few obvious examples of where the pre-chorus borrows from Birds Of Tokyo’s school of song writing. Twisted Little Mind is a definite favourite with its huge sing-a-long chorus and heavier guitar output, with A New Line and Pantomime close runners up, while the semi-acoustic Close My Eyes provides an insight to another side of the band’s sound, with great results.
On a cursory listen, it’s easy to dismiss Singularity as sounding a little too ‘samey’ all the way through. But if you have the patience, Singularity does reward you with some great songs.
Best Track: Twisted Little Mind
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: [In] Exile AFTER THE FALL, Birds Of Tokyo BIRDS OF TOKYO
In A Word: Promising
JUSTIN DONNELLY
