Chapter and Verse have started there short career as a band very very brightly, with sold out shows already under their belt in their home town of London with the Black Heart already having graced their focused alt rock sound. Looking to grow on the back of Black Peaks success, Chapter and Verse bring their own version of the heavy sounding alt rock associated with the aforementioned Brighton boys but with their own unique sprinkles all over it. Most importantly though, is it good?
Well, to put it as simply as possible, yes they are. Opener The New Breed is a frenetic introduction into the world of Chapter and Verse with the verse feeling like a very tense build up before the chorus is unleashed. The track reminds the listener of an early, more rock focused Muse whilst maintaining a more alt rock edge to it. All the while Josh Carter’s vocals are incredibly encapsulating, drawing the listener in with every word.
What follows is the high point of this short EP in Tunnels. Coming straight out the traps with a bouncy as hell riff followed by an interesting verse with a very strange pattern (showing off the musical talent of the band) we see a massive chorus with vocal melodies reminiscent of Myles Kennedy, really good company to keep as far as Josh is concerned. What follows is a bit more of a traditional alt rock sound in Shelf Life where we see a bit more heavy vocal side of Josh and a lot more, simply put weirdness in the music, not that this is a problem as this track is exceptional in what it sets out to do.
Slower number Electric Tongues comes next and is mostly used as a showcase for the exceptional vocal range of Carter as the vocals are definitely the focus here. The finale of the EP follows this in the form of Slave and this track shows a much more rock orientated side of the band with excellent riffs and a massive chorus in attendance on this track, all the while being combined with some alt rock melodies and maintaining the bands core sound.
All in all, this EP is very good. It showcases a band that are definitely in the ascendency even though they do still have a lot to learn. Their strengths definitely lie in the more heavy rock side of their music where they successfully make the alternative rock genre, that is so over saturated, interesting again. If they continue to go in this direction they might be the next band to achieve a jump in stock and we could soon see them on the main stages at festivals.
8/10 – Interesting ideas, more to come from this lot
Highlight – Tunnels