Forwardman
The
Scribes
A Story All About How
4.0
Review by Sean Coyle
Review by Gemma Dennison
Upcoming Finnish alt-rock artist Forwardman
recently released his dynamic début album
‘This Ain’t No Rocket Science’ in association
with Secret Entertainment. The Helsinki based
act is the brain child of talented singersongwriter Sakari Viittala who is fervent on
ever evolving his musical style with a mix of
explosive guitar solos, airy synth sounds and
virtuous lyrics.
This album showcases this versatility with a
diverse range of genres which can be heard
throughout. The most prominent being
alternative rock with hints of indie pop,
psychedelica and grunge. Some tracks created
a pleasant nostalgia for me, reminiscent of old
school Pearl Jam and Talking Heads.
The memorable opening track ‘Against The
Wheel’ draws the listener in to a distinctive ten
track album. Energetic guitar riffs and bouncy
basslines in heavier tunes such as ‘Cure’,
‘Twenty-Six’ and ‘Heal’ bring you on a bumpy
ride through the anguish Viittala feels against
the pressures of modern day society.
Forwardman expresses his conflicting
emotions by cleverly employing techniques
42
3.5
such as distortion and keys changes to contrast
his feelings of melancholy and hope. Lighter
tracks such as ‘Driven’ reveal a barring of the
soul and a will to fight on. While the
instruments were musically interesting
throughout the album, the vocals unfortunately
did not seem to fit into the jigsaw puzzle and
let the integrity of the lyrics down.
What is refreshing about this record is that
it’s a cohesive concept album with regards to
themes running throughout the songs depicting
the emotional rollercoaster of life. However
the musical styles chop and change
dramatically in places which is confusing and
runs the risk of losing the listener along the
way.
Overall ”This Ain´t No Rocket Science” is a
classic alternative-rock collection of songs
offering an eclectic album filled with upbeat,
catchy tunes and mellow melodies to suit any
mood.
Listen – Against The Wheel, Cure, Heal
Skip – Houses, Plan C, Invisible
‘This Ain’t No Rocket Science’ is available
for download on iTunes now
UK hip hop act The Scribes are back with their
second full length album A Story All About
How.
The album is clever and well produced with
its politically and socially fueled lyrics. It is
sharply rhythmic and it has an angst driven
angry tone delivered in a sometimes tongue in
cheek attitude. It makes for a fascinating listen.
Metaphorically it could be used as a
representation for the fast paced world we are
living in.
The album fuses hip hop with beat laden rock
riffs , swirling strings , pounding dub step in
an array of melodic organised chaos – it’s a bit
Daft Punk meets Dizzee Rascal.
A Story All About How has been longawaited by fans and has taken over two years
to create as the band has had a heavy touring
schedule. The album has a continuous quality
and does overrun ever so slightly but had it
been cut down the steam of that very quality
would be lost. A Story All About How is
exciting and represents a moment in time
within our translucent society. If you get a
chance to hear the lyrics they are poetic and
insightfully interesting – so far the album has
been widely critically acclaimed by the UK
music press.
Blood In Your Eyes is the first single and the
video can be viewed on YouTube.