As a band who market themselves as a glam rock outfit, images of statically teased hair, studded and leather clad clothing would spring to mind along with the hedonistic behaviour similar to that of Motley Crue and Poison. TREMENDOUS’ influence however is more akin to the genre’s adolescent origins that would later spawn glams heavier incarnation, and instead draws inspiration from the UK’s 70s scene of Mott the Hoople and T-Rex, and US titans Cheap Trick and New York Dolls.
The snappy 28-minute debut album 'Relentless' from the Birmingham trio softly glides into a mellow start with ‘Don’t Leave Our Love (Open for Closing,)’ as vocalist Mark Dudzinski’s falsetto breathes out like a sigh of contentment at the end of a good day. ‘Like Dreamers Do’ exhibits the trademark bright, clean guitars and melancholic English twang of indie rock, reminiscent of emotionally distant teenage couples slow-dancing at their high school graduation to a David Bowie track.
As the opening riff pans dizzyingly from left to right, the Bowie influence is suggested in the song ‘Rock 'n' Roll Satellite’ with the lyrics ‘stealing from the spiders from mars,’ before tumbling into a more Kinks-like punk riddled chorus with a thick, sludgey rhythm section from bassist Ryan Jee and drummer David Lee. A fusillade of punk angst tears its way through the record, screeching like a cry for help as 'Bag of Nails' narrates a dysfunctional dystopian relationship; ‘I dream that I’m chasing my tail / and I wake up as your bag of nails.’
‘Daniela’ tells the tale of a lost soul; ‘barbed wire fences wrapped around your dreams / you’ll never escape behind those bars you’ve made it seems.’ The reverb on Dudzinski’s guitar creates a substance induced comatose rouse, the chorus acting as a violent resuscitation; ‘your mumma don’t mind, (she thinks you’re getting better.)’ The souring guitar solo in this track jumps out from the 90s alternative scene whilst the production still keeps a toe dipped in the warm waters of the 70s. The drums in ‘Take a Good Look at my Good’ keep a simplistic beat with a pattern that bears the brunt of the backbone of the song.
‘Heart Sinker’ and ‘Fightin’ to Lose’ are snappy rippers that exhibit the bands harder and sharper edges, the juxtaposition of ‘Hell is Only a Blessing Away’ perfectly sums up the balance between aggression and floaty serenity.
As a three-piece the band manage to stray away from the all-too-familiar skeletal basics, and instead elicit a well-rounded and full sound without drowning in modern over-production. Ending the album with ‘Copycat Killer’ captures the perfect imperfections of the bands that ruled the previous century’s latter decades.
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