Towns – Get By

What do you get when you throw together a bunch of friends, a girlfriend and a DIY record label ‘Howling Owl Records?’ You get an extremely experimental and surreal EP from Weston-super-Mare lads Towns. Sadly, since the release of Get By Towns have decided to call it a day, disappointing news since the album is incredibly infectious and deserved far more credit than it was awarded.

First track Get Me There opens on heavy, psychedelic guitar riffs and the eerily light voice of lead singer James MacLucas. It’s apparent from the very first note that this album sounds could very much be the love child of an Oasis and Verve face off, combining the rock ‘n’ roll tones of the Manchester brothers along with the neo-shaggy-gloomy of earlier Verve tracks. Towns’ sound certainly holds the nostalgia of the Britpop war of the 90’s.

Marbles appeals to the inner rock‘n’roll goddess in me, opening with fuzzy amp static, strumming guitars and later joined by heavier riffs and drums. The perfect head nodding track which would no doubt be amazing live. Mirror Ghost is a slower, gloomier track on the album, MacLucas’s voice drifts dreamily through the speakers making the track sound as though it has been sent from the Gods and I found myself hitting repeat twice, sitting back and letting the soft lyrics take over.

Young At Heart is exactly what is says on the tin; upbeat, catchy riffs and lyrics which capture the essence of adolescence. However, the lyrics hold some truth about growing up, finding yourself and falling in love; it is a very coming of age track which is enough to ping anyone back to their younger teenage years where the world seemed like a scarier place. It’s nostalgic, happy and everything else in between.

All in all, Towns have produced a stunning album, capturing the balance between psychedelic and rock and roll as well as reviving the 90’s. It’s hard to pick on a bad point, other than the fact that Towns separated no more than a week after the album was released. It is a shame to see Towns retiring from the music scene, but they certainly went out with a bang.