Hailing from the West Midlands, melodic pop-punk four piece Maycomb have shared stages with genre heavyweights such as The Wonder Years, The Starting Line and Saves the Day. Having been around since 2009, and the band released their long-awaited debut album ‘I Opened My Heart To Caustic Things’ at the end of 2012.
One of the most noticeable things about the album is that vocals in the upper range give the band an upbeat, uplifting feel – complemented by summery guitars that resonate straight away from opening track ‘New Storms’. Although the album definitely gives a nod to the American pop-rock scene, the vocals avoid straying toward the American inflection seen in many British bands trying to emulate their idols, which definitely works in their favour towards standing out in what is quite an oversaturated scene.
At less than a minute and a half long, ‘Out of the Darkness Cometh Light’ provides an interlude moment, breaking up the energy with a chilled electro-acoustic vibe, breaking straight back into the upbeat opening riffs of ‘When The Time Comes’. The songwriting demonstrates strong potential, and Dynamiter has some great angsty lyrical potential with lines such as “conformity looks good on you” – although the bouncy guitars detract from this a little, feeling slightly at odds with some of the words. The brilliantly named ‘I Am Constantly A Variable’ is a high point in the album, with a catchy chorus and some fun riffs, along with ‘Sinking Song’, which demonstrates a strong sense of light and shade musically.
With ‘I Opened My Heart To Caustic Things’, Maycomb haven’t re-invented the pop-rock wheel, but their energetic mixture of pop-punk with a nod to bouncy indie is easy to listen to and enjoyable, and it’ll be interesting to see where the band go from here.
Terra Incognita