Review: Yorkshire Rats - Sea of Souls
By Chris Reinbold, Staff Writer
[Indelirium; 2015]
Rating: 1.5/5
Key Tracks: “Glory Days”
Yorkshire Rats are a four-piece punk outfit hailing from the United Kingdom. Sea of Souls is the debut album from the British foursome that wouldn’t be too out of place in the dirty dives and clubs of late ‘70s England. However, the band could never exist without the American punk explosion of the ‘90s, as they quite obviously rip influence from not just the likes of California punk rock legends Rancid and Social Distortion, but also Florida-bred Hot Water Music.
“Glory Days” is the second cut on the album, beginning with some intense power chords. Immediately, the listener’s mind will be taken back, as the song’s primary guitar motif sounds incredibly similar to the opener “Hurry Up and Wait.” After the power chord-heavy verse is a gigantic interlude with power chords (of course) that ring overtop the vocals. In the middle of the track is a barnburner guitar solo, which notably has no effects on it besides a very light distortion. The main guitar riff in the song, although repetitive and rehashed, does not seem to drag, and in fact, propels the song forward.
“Glory Days” is the first of many pieces that truly allow the listener to hear how much Yorkshire Rats’ singer Don Mercy takes influence from Social Distortion’s Mike Ness, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and Hot Water Music’s Chuck Ragan. The vocals have the flow of Ness, but shift between the slight nasal sound of Armstrong and the rasping heft of Ragan.
“Everyday” begins with a downbeat played intro that immediately slams the listener over the head. This descending and then ascending riff, however, sounds like it was clipped from Blink-182’s “Anthem Part Two” from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. The band flawlessly brings the energy down through the use of palm mutes to permit the vocals to slide to the top of mix. The song’s Blink-182 riff makes a return as the chorus, without vocals, ends up sounding lazier than it does high energy.
Sea of Souls falls a little flat when it comes to production. Each instrument has its own pocket and clearly defined space, but there is not much dynamic contrast on the album. It is almost as if the producer compressed the tracks as much as he could during the mixing process. The music is punk, albeit rather uninspired punk. The lyricism tries to narrate tales of working class problems, but again, falls flat. Sea of Souls does show potential, but Yorkshire Rats need to expand musically as more than just a very simple conglomeration of their very apparent influences.
