Pink Spider - Spontaneity
Self-released - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
This Midlands-based quartet have been peddling their alt-metal/hardcore mix for a few years now, clocking up some impressive support gigs alongside the likes of
The Dillinger Escape Plan,
Skindred and so forth. I've often though that their name could be holding them back just a little, so I was chuffed to find out that they've recently changed it. Yay! They're now called
Pink Widow. Oh.
Dodgy nomenclature aside, let's have a look at the material, shall we? What we have here is three tracks of tightly-played, carefully structured and wilfully schizophrenic music that veers between anthemic, synth-augmented melodicism (the closing passages of 'Ivan's Belt'), spasmodic
System Of A Down-esque thrashing and rapid-fire vocals (pretty much all of 'The Gunpowder Plot'), and just about everything in between, whether it be simple, catchy chord progressions or jazzy, spiky guitar figures. In fact, the group seems to gleefully defy categorisation, vocalist Bart in particular going from savage throaty screams to more soulful (if slightly forced-sounding) crooning in the blink of an eye.
Obviously, what with this being a self-released EP, the recording quality is hardly going to match up to the latest Roadrunner release, and so it proves here, with somewhat thin guitars, occasionally over-reverbed vocals and somewhat slap-happy kick drums. However, the originality and catchiness of the material allows it to overcome the limitations of the recording process, and mark
Spontaneity as an interesting marker in the progression of a promising band.
6.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Pink Spider Website
