The fiscal abortion that is/was Pledge Music’s mismanagement (and the subsequent aftershock) has irreversibly punctured both punters and artists confidence alike. Up and coming Independent bands such as Hands Off Gretel have been dealt a deflating blow from the very organisation that should have offered a helping hand up rather than the cancerous growth of mistrust, financial loss and massive musical disappointment. Thankfully ‘I Want The World’ was not lost in the mele because this is a beautifully brutal album. Opener ‘Kiss Me Girl’ squeezes the neck of grunge and sucks out the last drops of its precious breath before shoving a pieced tongue into the barely conscious genre’s mouth.
The raspy vocals, bass break, rising chorus and dirty guitars all thrash about in perfect unison. Next up is ‘S A S S’ which cuts ‘n’ chops with breathless body blows of rebellion tinged nineties Punk before ‘Big Boy’ blindly swerves across the musical motorway. ‘It’s My Fault’ surfs close to the “why me” MTV beach before title track ‘I Want The World’ and ‘Blame Me’ return beating hearts to the burning sand. ‘Freaks Like Us’ is an alternative clarion call while ‘Milk’ is a delicious mascara-smeared nightmare of Hole(y) kissed Grunge. ‘Fingers’ and ‘My Freind Said’ both rattle the ribs and its left to the despondent punch of ‘Rot’ to finish this early contender for my album of the year.
HANDS OFF GRETEL
I WANT THE WORLD
Puke Pop Records
9/10