Our fab guest blogger, Jordon Chiarelli, shares his thoughts on the forthcoming album. Male Bonding is a noise-pop trio from Daltson, UK, a London suburb with a budding D.I.Y. scene, which fuses elements of garage/indie-rock guitars, punk sensibility, surf influences and the most important aspect to their originality, speed. Yes, Male Bonding’s sound is highly melodic, filled with all the necessary hooks to bounce around in your cranium, all the while, kicking it up a notch. The band, consisting of John Arthur Webb, on guitars and vocals, Kevin Hendrick, on bass and vocals and Robin Silas Christian, on drums, has been at it for the past two years. They have been touring relentlessly around Europe and North America and penning a name for themselves releasing split singles on Paradise Vendors and later, Sub Pop Records, while winning over crowds with their up-tempo, noisy and unforgettable stage performances. With that being said, Male Bonding is finally set to release their much anticipated first full length album, Nothing Hurts on Sub Pop Records. The album begins with the straight ahead, 2-chord, guitar driven ‘Year’s Not Long’, which epitomizes the Male Bonding sound: melodic and captivatingly sped up. At times sounding like pre-Sire Replacements, the tune showcases Hendrick’s hooky rhythm section. The next couple of songs breeze by, each about two minutes long, like many of the tracks on the album, but are equally as memorable.

Read the remainder of this review AFTER THE JUMP…

But then we are introduced to other aspects of Male Bonding’s songwriting. ‘Weird Feelings’ introduces the listener to ’60s surfer influences alongside a jangly guitar melody, while ‘Franklin’ shows off the band’s slower and spacey side, fusing an almost Fleet Foxes-esque guitar tone during the verses and a Flaming Lips-like, flowing chorus drenched in echoic vocals. Songs like ‘Crooked Rain’ and ‘Pirate Key’ are noisier than the first half of the album, but remain equally melodic and memorable showcasing a heavy, garage guitar sound from Webb and a pounding drum sound which carries the majority of the songs by Christian. The standout track of the second side is ‘Pumpkin’, once again showing off the band’s love for jangly, surfer riffs and loud melodies. The album concludes with ‘Worst To Come’, an acoustic number featuring Vivian Girls, putting the finishing touches on an album spanning 13 songs in a half hour. Male Bonding’s debut record is nothing short of impressive. It is a unique sound internally contradicting itself with heavy and noisy guitars, with hooky bass lines and thunderous drums – a punk rock pedigree, while melding whimsical and dreamy vocal harmonies.

Visit Male Bonding on MySpace.

MP3: Male Bonding – Year’s Not Long