A REVIEW OF THE VARLETTS' DEBUT SINGLE 'City of Sin' - 07/01/2017

 



THE VARLETTS
from left to right - Laurie, George and Matt

 THE VARLETTS are a three-piece band based in Nottingham.

 

Made up of Laurie Rowland (vocalist and bassist), Matt Drinkwater (guitarist and backing vocalist) and George Topham (drummer and percussionist) this band say that energetic gigs in seedy venues are their speciality.

After forming mid-2016, this alternative rock-band who take pride in a raw and raucous sound whose songs range from fast-paced rock anthems to melodic ballads and emotional poetic lyrics, recently played Nottingham's renowned 'The Bodega' in support of The Vryll Society and Hidden Charms. This was followed by them going on to play The Maze and headline The Lofthouse. 

'I'm Not From London' spoke about this trio and said 'Off kilter, pumped up alt-rock from the wilds of Grantham. For fans of The Cribs, The Wytches and King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. The Varletts are certainly ones to watch.'

 

Taking their influence from plethora of genres, styles and individuals; from The Cribs and The Wytches to the classic rock from the likes of Led Zeppelin. The band members even state some of their inspiration comes from metal bands like Parkway Drive and Jazz musicians alike.

 

On the 13th of this month the boys of The Varletts are set to release their debut single 'City of Sin' which comes alongside B-side 'Accused of Effeminacy' ahead of the official release they sent over the tracks to enable me to review the tracks.

 

  

 

 'City of Sin' definitely portrays the raw, melodic sound they self-proclaim to have.

 

This track is an excellent summation of exactly what the boys of The Varletts are trying to achieve through their sound.

 

 Due to one of their influences being The Wytches I would definitely say that the rawness of this song definitely derives from that of The Wytches' song 'Summer Again' due to how defined the vocals are.

It also has quite a haunting nature about it and is quite dark in terms of the lyrics.

 

These Nottinghamshire based boys definitely have a vibe of The Cribs about them. This is something that comes out much more in 'Accused of Effeminacy,' particularly during the sections of the song when frontman Laurie Rowland starts to carry out some talking parts. It definitely would definitely remind any The Cribs' fan of 'Be Safe'.

 

The B-side is definitely the one which brings out the raucous side of the band. Despite it still being quite melodic and a little calm in places I can imagine this track being the one which gets the audience moving at the gigs of The Varletts.

 

The single as a whole is one which for a debut release is pretty impressive and is right up my street in terms of its sound.

I think lyrically the B-side is definitely my favourite track due to them talking about important themes which need to be discussed such as that of gender roles and boys not being able to be in-touch with their emotions due to what society says and thus they carry on with the status quo that they are told is correct.

 However, instrumentally I would say that 'City of Sin' is my favourite as I feel in that track they are a lot more defined and there are more instrumental sections.

After listening to this single I am already rather excited to hear what The Varletts have to offer with their next release and this one hasn't even been released yet.

 

 I definitely recommend that you give this single a listen upon it's release.

Written by Sophie.
@sopharnold_