Review: Michael – Tell Your Friends

Visit me on Twitter / Read my other reviews

I saw this lot live just before Christmas and they were absolutely ballistic, 100% ON! I’ll get on the album in a minute, there are some gig dates at the bottom of the page, if any of the dates are within travelling distance do yourself a huge favor and get your arse to one of them. Will probably be your gig of the year; you can thank me later.

Not sure what was going on when they thought of their name though. I asked their vocalist Milo what it was about when I saw them and its sort of reassuring that he didn’t have any idea either. Michael, I’ve taken your advice literally and told loads of friends about you over the past couple of months and no one can find anything… No problem just search @michaelwebsite I know it sounds like porn site but it’s not, honest.

This album then, it’s a real grower. Where they won me over with a super intense short live set in a club, the album has grown on me day by day while I’ve driven about at work over the past week. And the car is the perfect listening environment too, no one about to tell you it’s too loud! The obvious thing to do would be to deliver 45 minutes of full on numbers (they really do excel at them too) and that would be fine and dandy for a bit, tiring long term though.

What they’ve delivered is an album that’ll hold your attention throughout with tracks that alternating between stoner paced numbers (Mario, Machine Stops, Tunisia Through the Eye of a Camel) through to some fast as fuck beasts (The Road, Stabba’s Revenge, Success and Leaf Blower Tragedy). Everything has space to breath and tracks build and collapse allowing everything to fit together seamlessly.

The drumming is mighty throughout with an attack the forces the tracks along superbly, it’s inventive without being showy. The guitars? Well they are some of the dirtiest you can find on record, pure filth one minute and huge riffs the next or very often both at the same time. Milo’s vocals finish it off by being delivered with the zeal and intensity of a charged up evangelical alt-hard rock preacher, you’re going to listen people and listen well! I’m completely sold even if the narrative he weaves is impenetrable. But who cares when it’s this good?

Buy this record.

Sole Trader video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA9obxiAZYo

Bandcamp: https://michaelwebsite.bandcamp.com/album/tell–your–friends

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelWebsite/