During March's review of Ryan Allen's excellent solo EP (here) I mentioned that the excellent Pop on display was very different to his day job and here is that regular work. Extra Arms are a much louder proposition, wonderfully loud.
Starting out as Ryan Allen And His Extra Arms, the direction then was a little more Garage Punk Pop. Since morphing into Extra Arms, a proper band with an established line up, that punkishness has slightly mellowed into great Power Pop.
This is Power Pop at pace though. The songs are more in your face than a traditional Power Pop album, the band rarely come up for air, noisy upstarts in a world of jangling niceness maybe. It all works beautifully, every fist shaking moment.
The songs never lose their melody and are built on massive riffs and big choruses, designed to be played in sweaty venues. There are hints at times of Sugar at times, but it is just hints. Allen has never forgotten his Punk Roots, it is just that the songs have become even more accessible.
The riffs just drill through your head, the vocals are never shouty when it would be easy to be like peers who adopt that mode. A song like Life In A Cube just rocks your socks off and when it breaks out further, it is simply awesome.
I also note the increasing harmonies. What used to be a call and response, at times develops into more vocal play. Every Extra Arms album offers something more than the last. The band develops more each time. Just don't expect any ballads. What Is Even Happening Now is a splendid listen.
Pre-order here for the album's 3 June release and just wait until you hear I Don't Wanna Die on next week's IDHAS 10 Song Mix. I will add a couple more songs on release date and refresh this post.
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