Remember the first time you heard The Screaming Trees? It was cool, in a way, because here was this band jamming hard on classic rock riffs (like “White Room” by Cream or something), but there was also a rough, scuzzy and decidedly 'grunge' spin on that classic style. That cross of indie, post-punk values and classic rock ambition turned out to be the thing which bridged the gap between 'alt-rock' and 'classic rock' for a lot of people, and it's the exact same bridge that Mad Ones are standing on now, blasting their Burning Window EP and trying to shake some listeners out of their self-imposed haze.
From the moment “Face Of Love” opens the EP, listeners will find a familiarity about the sound that Mad Ones are dropping on them, but they'll welcome that familiarity because it's just so comfortable a place to start. The sheets of guitar that Andrew Devillers unrolls here will hit listeners in the gut with about as much weight as a porterhouse steak and really force Devillers to push the levels on his vocal up as well as informing drummer Phil Wilson's performance; no one treads lightly from the beginning and they sound is energizing when they all crash together; it's the kind of moment that will make a listener want to throw his arm in the air and scream, “Yeah!”
The anthemic crash exemplified by “Face Of Love” continues into “Miracle Intention” and the EP's title track and prove that nothing about that first success was an accident, but the real payday of Burning Window comes when listeners discover “Light Of Age” and realize that, while grunge was pretty clearly the form that Mad Ones were driving for, that does not mean the band can't be memorable for a smooth, swaggering rhythm too. Here, Devillers swings and throws a bit of style into his step to perfectly dramatic and romantic effect and his doubled, brick-thick guitar lurches lecherously to thrill every listener. By the time the song finally rattles to a stop, there won't be a dry seat listening but – maybe just to reiterate the point that this band knows exactly what it's doing, they do it again and throw a slightly more laden stomp into “Caged.” After that, iisteners will know this band means business and, when they come back this way again, they're going to take the same kind of swings to hit listeners the same way again – just to make 'em remember. It'll be great when it happens.
Artist:
www.madones.ca/
www.myspace.com/madonesband
www.facebook.com/pages/Mad-Ones/
www.twitter.com/MadOnesBand
Download:
Mad Ones – “Miracle Intention” – Burning Window EP
Album:
The Burning Window EP will be released on January 29, 2013. Buy it here from Kill The 8 merchandise.
