Up The Chain is a band that really knows how to hit the balance of various sounds in their music without it sounding messy or a complete hodge podge. Sure, at heart they’re an indie rock band, but there’s blues, a bit of psychedelia and a bit of folk too. I always have respect for bands that have various sounds in their music, but quite frequently you come across bands that don’t really get it right. Up The Chain, however, does.
‘Crumbling The Stone’ is a nicely paced moving track, with some soft vocal harmonies towards the latter end of it which fit the tone perfectly. The track is slightly reminiscent of what The Gaslight Anthem did on their last 2 albums, though both albums are in fact albums that didn’t strike the balance of influences particularly well, but Up The Chain seem to know how it’s done. The album stays strong with the following tracks as well; the quirky ‘No Waiting Lines’ and then perhaps the standout track here ‘Sidecar’. Once you hear that riff you’ll know why, it’s the kind of bluesy rock you’d expect to have died out decades ago, but it’s brought back to life because it’s so memorable and catchy – especially with that chorus. ‘Game Kids’ is another solid track here, quite Black Lips-esque may I add, in the vocals mostly but it definitely feels like a track that would’ve fit in on their great album Good Bad Not Evil.
Admittedly the album gets a little shaky after this, I mentioned earlier that this band is good at testing out an array of sounds, which they are, but the track ‘Globe’ really hits you like an 80s power ballad and feels slightly awkward. The track isn’t all bad, but the echoed vocals attempt to set an atmosphere which I don’t think works in the way they want it to, and I think they do this kind of song better at the end of the album. Pair ‘Globe’ with a quite oddly placed Ween-sounding, neo-psychedelic instrumental after the track (‘Pineapple or Potato?’), and we do have ourselves some less enjoyable minutes on the album. Luckily, ‘Windows Pt 2’ does come straight after, and I’d say this is one of the better tracks on the album as well, with a wavy and sort of ambient guitar riff that plays throughout the song.
I can’t say The Prison Break really hits its stride again after this (well not in the way the first 5 do), with some okay but not great tracks. The very short ‘Departed Trains’ really doesn’t give itself enough time to stick with you, and then ‘The River James’, which really doesn’t have any kind of hook to it at all.
Bizarrely the album ends with ‘Start of a Ghost’ followed by ‘On Your Side’, and I say bizarrely because the former track feels like a weaker version of the closing track, and I’ve not known an album to end that way before. Both phosphorescent sounding songs, but ‘On Your Side’ especially is incredibly uplifting and a powerful way to close out the album, and because of that I think this track right here is the highlight of the album. The chorus “I’m on your side” feels very hopeful and even though the band demonstrated dynamic sounds across the album, it still felt surprising to be hit with this right at the end.
Up The Chain display some real talent on this album and prove themselves to be a good indie rock band and the album is very much worth your time, don’t let it slip by you.
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