Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

The Grim Northern Social

Honey

Label: One Little Indian Release Date: 12/05/2003

4161
mirvine by Michael Irvine June 7th, 2003

The Grim Northern Social are a Scottish band who have recently won all manner of fancy-titled competitions, which in the end, have resulted with them securing a deal with One Little Indian. So expect a lavishly-produced album soon no doubt.

Of course by my use of the word lavish you will doubtless have guessed that I quite liked this single. It's big, it's bold, and it's confident. The lead singer looks and sounds like a modern day Police-era Sting. The lead guitarist looks like he should have been in At The Drive In or Mars Volta. The drummer seems to have built himself around Sid Vicious and everyone from Green Day. And the bassist, well, he looks a little like my granddad. But don’t tell him I said that.

From the title track 'Honey' to the last of the three I got the impression that these guys want to settle not for smoky, sweat stained pubs, but the anthemic arenas of mighty songsmithers the likes of Coldplay, Oasis and Travis. They want to go down in the annals of history.

Luckily however, they sound nothing like the aforementioned. Instead, twisting and turning through a warped mix of The Flaming Lips meets Mercury Rex, or T-Rex fronting Radiohead. The music flailing and bounding through intense rugged guitar and heavy pounding drums.

It's interesting, it really is quite good, it's even a little different. But then so were Coldplay, Oasis and Travis when they first started out. So it's up to you guys, how you gonna play it next?

  • 8
    Michael Irvine's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash


  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019



Left-arrow

Zabrinski

Executive Decision EP

Mobback

The Vines at Camden Electric Ballroom, Camden, Thu 19 Feb

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135

    Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134
  • Festival Review


    Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: Di...

  • 106133
MORE


    review


    Reverend And The Makers - @Reverend_Makers

  • 93547
  • feature


    The National: "We nearly lost our minds making ...

  • 30199

    news


    RIP: the Neu-Kraut scene

  • 28881
  • news


    Brian May in DiS-hating shocker!

  • 20986

    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Staff-generated


    Reviewed: Shut Up And Play the Hits a documenta...

  • 83336

    DiScussion


    Guyliners: Why Do UK Festivals Have So Few Fema...

  • 97325
  • news


    My Chemical Supergrass: Gerard Way and Gaz Coom...

  • 98527
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2021 DROWNED IN SOUND