The Music

Reviewed by:
David Peisner

The slavish “Next Big Thing” hype for British quartet the Music has reached a fever pitch. Time for the sensible among us to tear it down, right? In theory, perhaps. But as it happens, the Music have some impressive chops. The dizzying, psychedelic mash-up of arena-worthy guitar riffs and furious beats is hardly the redefinition of rock some have hailed it as, but there’s no denying the energy here. Frontman Robert Harvey’s howling sounds alternate like Perry Farrell after a half-dozen Red Bulls, and Adam Nutter’s guitar work jumps between the feral, piercing wail of “Float” and the bluesy, metallic moan of “Turn Out the Light” with shocking ease. “The People,” with its walls of pulsing guitars and swirling undercurrent of manic rhythms, conjures the late-night, drug-fueled hysteria created by bands like the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays in the late ’80s. Ultimately, The Music feels like little more than the sum of its parts, but fortunately, its parts are well chosen.

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