Rock bands over the years have often pulled out a novelty from left-field in a bid to get a few extra lines of press copy: hot on the heels of Tilly and the Wall and their tap-dancing percussion section, Cardiff-based trio Threatmantics have decided that a viola-toting front-man is the x-factor that's needed to send them into the big time. Rock music and violas is clearly not the most traditional of combinations; whilst violins are certainly not unheard of in pop-music - Final Fantasy, Andrew Bird and any other orchestral group you like to mention - the brand of scattershot noise that Threatmantics pump out would appear to sit uncomfortably with the predominantly classically-based instrument (although Cats In Paris just about make it work). This, in any case, coupled with drummer/keyboardist Huw Davies' multi-faceted contribution to the band's sound (namely playing drums and keyboard at the same time), is the hook that Cardiff-based trio Threatmantics are looking to snare the listener with.
As a result, it's hard to say where the group fits in on the musical landscape (that is if they indeed want to fit in at all): the viola (only apparent for the first time on the Celtic roots-tinged, itchy-footed "Buried Alive") certainly gives it a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that distances it from other scuzzy pop of a similar style in Britain at the moment. That said, with the band lacking the eccentricity of Victorian English Gentlemens Club or the slightly twee quirkiness of Cats In Paris, what we're left with is a collection of short, sharp and frequently noisy pop songs. "Big Man", one of the singles taken from the album, is aggressive, distorted and comes complete with a refrain to boorishly chant along to: "It takes a big man/to break a young girl's heart." "Don't Care", a spoken word ramble, is like a low budget Welsh "Parklife", without the everyman cool factor that made it the Britpop anthem of the mid-Nineties, that degenerates into the slightly childish "I don't know what you just said/and I don't care" and a squall of thudding drums and hyperactive viola. It's reasonably amusing, but not much more.
The further you get into the album, the more the feeling grows that the album is a little bit limited. It's pretty good, at times even raucous, pop; it just isn't much more. This in itself doesn't have to be a problem: there are enough moments of enjoyment to get a good listen out of the album. "Get Outta Town" is an almost countrified barnstormer, with loose syncopated drums and a viola melody that worms its way into your brain. Then, halfway through, it drops the runaway train act and segues into a boot-stomping march, a wiry repetitive guitar riff ramping up the pressure, as if the protagonist is literally being marched "outta town". A third (!) tempo change sees the stabilisers come off and we're back to the beginning. "High Waister", on the other hand, is a bleary-eyed rocker which hops across the divide for a second half helping of teary-eyed choral chanting and twinkly keys. It's one of the few truly surprising moments on the album. "Little Bird", also on single duties for the album, is a nursery rhyme of a single, with a flopsy-mopsy melody pinched from "Let's Learn To Play The Guitar Vol. 1". This sweet sense of playfulness is shattered, nay pulverised, by a cacophony of guitars and drums. Davies wonders aloud "Little bird, why did you go away?": I think the answer comes around the 31 second mark.
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The group is clearly not looking to reinvent the wheel. They've got their hook(s) and they're sticking with it: as a result, what you get is a short blast of noisy pop tracks and nothing more. The viola, whilst a novelty, successfully rises above this to offer something more substantial on most of the tracks on show here. The next album will need something else to grab the attention though. Whether that be a new direction or simply Heddwyn Davies playing lead sousaphone instead of the viola is up to the band. I wouldn't rule the sousaphone out though...
Threatmantics online
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