Spoilers - Anti Vibe

London-based Spoilers release their debut album this week. Featuring Craig Sharp on vocals and guitar, Eddie Whelan on guitar, Christopher Smith on bass and drummer Mario Daddabbo, they recorded the album in three sessions, including one on a boat. Spoilers have been described as “psychedelic garage punk” and “space grunge” but the swirling guitars, prominent bass lines and half buried vocals indicate that Spoilers have stumbled onto shoegaze. Anti Vibe sounds like The Strokes jamming with Ride.

‘Try Try Try’ is missing a lead instrument. There is nothing to hook the listener in. Every instrument is in the background and the vocals are even further back. There's a good song hidden somewhere in the mix but it's difficult to discern. Smith’s bass takes the lead for ‘Unfun’ and Sharp’s vocals are at their most audible during the verses. There's a lot of energy in the tune but it feels stifled.

Daddabbo in particular is sold short by the production, with his contribution often reduced to a soft clicking in the background. The excellent melodic lead of Smith's bass guitar is all warm mids. It gives Anti Vibe a firm foundation and drives the songs, but for much of the record the drums are conspicuously absent; their frequencies sacrificed to Smith and the multi effects of Sharp and Whelan.

Recent single ‘Imminent Future’ has an excellent introduction. The feeling of propulsion and approaching threat is superbly portrayed. The drawling vocal really robs the song of its impetus and the direction becomes confused. The first three songs must be from a single session because fourth track ‘It's A Lie I Told Myself’ sounds like it’s from another era altogether. Its super grungy guitars, distorted vocals and powerhouse rhythm section elevate the tune above everything that preceded it. It's like a missing Nirvana B-side. The mix is clear and every instrument has the space to be heard. The difference between the two sessions is like night and day.

‘Ripping’ is another kind of tune entirely but maintains the engaging dynamics of the previous song. There's an Asylums vibe off it, particularly with the guitar effects. The vocals are once again submerged but the instruments inject enough life into the track to carry it.

With only seven songs on Anti Vibe it's a mini album or a long EP rather than a full album. It is very much an record of two halves. The overall impression is of a band playing with different genres using the same set up. As a first effort, documenting the early stages of a band, Anti Vibe succeeds but hopefully the next release will be more coherent. Spoilers have yet to discover their sound. The extreme changes in the production and mixing from one song to the next suggests uncertainty. It's jarring to listen to and could be taken for multiple sessions compiled over a number of years and remastered as one record.

Anti Vibe is available from bandcamp.