The Thinking Men - Memento Mori
The new EP from Norwich's very own The Thinking Men is a rich coffee blend of catchy tunes and dark, archaic lyrics. Machine Made Men has a raw energy which, driven by the lead's gravelly vocals, gathers you in its current and rattles your bones with a stormy embrace. In Hell I'll Make Your Bed is as tender as the other songs are violent, proving that the band is just as capable of disturbing storytelling as they are existential railings in this macabre love tale that will soften your heart and curl your toes. Each song has a particular musical flavour and makes you inclined to imagine what it would be like if Jack White set up a sweet shop.
There is a passion here and an under-produced rawness that is inescapably infectious, allowing you to inhabit a dark world of biblical allusions and unusual storytelling (think Nick Cave collaborating with Chaucer) to a depth you wouldn’t think possible of a five song EP.
Recorded in a friend's house to do away with the constrictions of a studio environment, Memento Mori has a soul that is unadulterated by layers of editing and effects, resulting in an honest and distinctive quality of art that is unashamedly imperfect.
8/10
