The second EP from Glasgow based From Paris To Prison is a showcase of great things to come for the band.
Full of angst and anarchy, great bass riffs and plenty of hooks to sink your teeth in to; there’s definitely glimmers of something great here.
The band’s real strengths are in their instrumentals that really take centre stage throughout the entire collection of tracks.
The lyrics and vocals are by no means weak – there are some excellent moments, for example in the final chorus of ‘Best Friends Girlfriend’ there’s a great sense of vocal lift and energy.
However, because they have been slightly recessed in the production and they are sitting behind instrumentals of a great standard, they do seem to drain energy from some of the tracks by default.
Opener, ‘Sign of the Times’, immediately hits you in the face with the superb talent of the bass and lead guitarists – with riffs that develop as the track progresses; making it a winner from start to finish.
Similarly, ‘Mid-Week Drinking’ opens with a stunning bass riff from Stu Graham and then develops into an all round great track that you can imagine sounds brilliant live.
Something slightly different from the EP, ‘The Angels Take their Share’ is the most down tempo track (it’s on the cusp of being classed a classic rock ballad); and has the most depth of all the tracks with strings and haunting vocal harmonies accompanying the great level of guitar playing that can be observed throughout the whole EP.
Overall, ‘Working Class Zero’ is a real diamond in the rough – the fantastic bass riffs, and melodic hooks from lead guitarist Jopez Gillies are really great listening.
The band certainly has a lot of potential, and there are moments of pure brilliance – definitely one to watch for in the future.
Words: Jenny Todd
Rave Child 