Maycomb are 4 young lads hailing from Wolverhampton, UK creating a special blend of powerpop with lyrics that Justin Pierre from Motion City Soundtrack wish he would have wrote.
Right from the get go you know you in for a treat as there is no need for an intro track as the pumping duel guitars welcome you to the first track ‘New Storms’. This song is the perfect opener as it sums up what to expect from the rest of the album. Jimmy Taylor’s unique drumming has got to be one of our favourite aspects of this 11 song album which you can hear from this 1:59 second long opener.
If you have/haven’t checked out Maycomb’s last release 2010’s Crystal Tiger Blues then we would say this album is for fans of The Swellers, Fireworks and Motion City Soundtrack.
‘Old Gold’ carries on the power from the opener and Simon McCoy’s lyrics are beautiful crafted and true. ‘I’d rather not succeed then not try’ is a sentence that is hugely relatable and you can feel the honestly after every line he sings.
‘Dynamiter’ is Maycomb in one song. A short and sweet chorus and an out of nowhere riff. The sneaky rhythm guitar in the background allows us to understand why this song has us hooked each time we hear it. In parts you can hear reminisces of The Dangerous Summer. Maycomb are not scared to add in riffs, drum fills and basically reinvent how their song structures are laid out.
Next up is our favourite song off the album. ‘I Am Constantly a Variable’ which features the best lyrics out of the songs on the cd, considering each song is a gold mine for lyrics, this one is 2% better. The double vocals in the chorus is exactly what makes this an epic 3 minutes and 20 seconds. The line ‘I put faith in things I couldn’t see, look what that got me’ could be the best lyric that Simon Mccoy has written to date.
Jonny Ward and Jack Owen have crafted perfect guitar lines which complement each other more then Samwise Gamgee at Frodo Baggin’s birthday party.
‘Sinking Song’ is planted perfectly in the middle of this album and keeps the tempo up and doesn’t deter you from switching off the album.
‘Out Of Darkness Cometh Light’ is the slowest song that Maycomb has ever wrote, the single guitar, McCoy’s voice and Frankie Torpey’s recording allow this song to be the perfect introduction to ‘When The Time Comes’. It’s almost as if the first 5 tracks were pure pop punk and Maycomb then decide to slow it down for a minute or so and then straight back on the acceleration pedal.
Once again ‘When The Time Comes’ features a sing along chorus which is instantly catchy which will have you singing along after the second listen (Well as soon as you learn the lyrics).
‘Start Missing Everybody’ and ‘Also Ran’ continue the adrenaline to set up the album closure.
In classic Maycomb style the last song is always a treat with the biggest chorus on the album. If you have heard ‘Whatever Happened, Happened’ off their previous EP you will notice that this title is super fitting. Towards the end of this song you will see that they have added key lyrics from the previous 10 songs, this is a great addition which reminds me of ‘I’m Asking Her To Stay’ off Sherwood’s ‘A Different Light’.
All in all this album is exactly what you would expect from Maycomb. Eleven song’s of sugary pop-punk with bittersweet lyrics, punching drumming and marvelling guitar work.
Fingers crossed that when the time comes, Maycomb release something that can top ‘I Opened My Heart To Caustic Things’.
4.7 Inflatable Crocodiles out of 5 Inflatable Crocodiles.
Visit the bands facebook – www.facebook.com/maycomb