Single review: British India – Vanilla EP
Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, British India have already released an album ‘Avalanche’ in their homeland and now release their UK debut in the form of the ‘Vanilla’ EP.
Lead track ‘Vanilla’ is fairly run of the mill indie guitar and it’s all a bit too familiar. With a slow verse/soaring chorus format it sounds like something Embrace might put out, only a bit half-arsed. But being in a generous mood , instead of consigning it to the rubbish pile I decide to give them another chance and so I continued with track two ‘Safari’, and I’m glad I did. There’s a significant change of pace as British India let themselves go and rock out, and it makes a hell of a difference. Out of nowhere they seem to have found energy, passion and a healthy dose of punk attitude. The drums are pounded and the guitars thrashed while Declan Melia’s voice finds an intensity that was sorely missing from the previous track. Things continue to improve with ’90 Ways To Leave Your Lover’ which, apropos of nothing, starts with a speech entitled ‘Age of The Gross’ from ex-US president Spiro Agnew before drums and guitars take over. ‘Because Of You’ continues to up the stakes and by the time it’s finished I feel exhausted, so god knows how the band must be feeling. The latter three songs show that British India clearly have passion, talent and energy It’s just a shame they chose to hide it behind something as average as ‘Vanilla’. 3/5
Mark Cousens
Out now on Shock Distribution/Waste Management
http://www.myspace.com/britishindia
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