After even the murkiest of listens, it’s glaringly obvious that these Victorian youngsters are writing beyond their age. Reverb soaked vocals are met head on with an urgency that explodes from your speakers and refuses to stop, but the scrappy chords the prefer are given a mature and tasteful redress (the piano from which “Ratcatcher” is built, almost jazzy horns, and organ work) without sacrificing the freedom for which youth allows (“Viva Slam Dunkus”, the scorching opener, “No Fun”, and the pogo ready “The Beach”).
With a never ending supply of shout-along choruses and scorching garage riffs, and if this is in fact a slam dunk, these guys went fucking wolf (although, it has to be noted The Beavers repped Adidas). Shivers – a consolidation of their two previous EPs and two new songs – runs through the darkness with the urgency of terror and there are moments, like “Feral Child” or the blazing outro of “Viva Slam Dunkus”, where the band embraces that terrifying Howard family wildness. But it’s the brilliance they reveal (like the surfy chug of “Slowdance”) that lets you know Slam Dunk are going to win in the end. Best of all, for now at least, Shivers is free.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
MP3:: Slam Dunk – Feral Child
WEB:: http://slamdunk.bandcamp.com/