Reviews

The Effects of Alcohol can manifest themselves in many ways: from an over enthusiastic slurring of "You're my besssssshhht mate, you are" at closing time, through to the minor embarrassment (and considerable pain) of walking into a lake for no particular reason and breaking your elbow - as my mate Peter once did.

Apart from this, the Effects of Alcohol are also a band from Cheltenham. They exist with the sole intention of rocking your world with the best riffs, snarls and drum beats that rock can buy.

Welcome to the Real World

Ploughing a similar musical furrow to their near neighbours Nukchorris, The Effects of Alcohol's high octane tracks will tear through your eardrums and make an indelible mark on your brain. In the nicest possible way, of course.

The band's songs are as gritty in content as they are in style with references to gambling addictions, narcissistic bullies and the daily grind of dead end jobs.

Through the gruff delivery of Andy Walsh's vocals (imagine Kelly Jones with a bit more bile) the Effects deliver hard edged songs with biting lyrics.

The opening track to be found on their website is "Change Your Life": a diatribe against the nine to five lifestyle: "Wake up early to get to work/you get home and get out tomorrow's shirt".

Opening with the universally pleasing lyric of "“na-na na-na naaaaaahh", the song bursts into life with just short of a four minute rebellion: "You've got to break the cycle", Walsh preaches at, I suspect, the converted.

Me and…Me Versus the World

Second track "Might Be You" is short and sweet at just two minutes thirty nine. But it says everything it needs to say in those valuable seconds.

Over a scorching lead guitar line, the lyrics rant against the self absorbed. It's fast and very, very furious.

But The Effects save the best till last with their final track, "Sell The World". This time Cheltenham's angry young men of rock have their eyes set on a compulsive gambler: "You feel like you're on a winning streak/All your friends say you're losing your mind" Walsh sings over an intense mass of guitars and drums.

Anger Management

It's an angry song, watching on as a man gambles his life away on the roll of a dice, but its also a rocking song with a huge amount of attitude. A scary amount of attitude.

The sum total of The Effects of Alcohol can be represented in anger, resentment and a passionate desire to break a seeming inevitable cycle.

Which all sounds like gloom and doom, but it would be a very dull world in which songs were merely sung and fluffy bunny rabbits and a world made of cheese.

Gareth Hamer, lead guitarist

The Effects take issues - real issues - and address them without relying on triteness or too many clichés.

Hopefully we'll be hearing more of them shortly. Long may the misery continue!

The Effects of Alcohol are:

Andy Walsh - Lead vocals
Gareth Hamer - Lead guitar
Neil Squires - Rhythm Guitar
Hamish Rowe - Bass Guitar, backing Vocals
Rob Workman - Drums

______________________________________

If you're involved in the Gloucestershire music scene and you would like Stephen to review your music, please feel free to get in touch. Either email gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk or send your album and a bit about yourself to:

CD reviews
BBC Gloucestershire Online
London Road
Gloucester
GL1 1SW

______________________________________

This article is an external contribution and expresses a personal opinion, not the views of the BBC.