Take a pinch of Trent Reznor, apply the almost mathematical instrumentation of Battles before finishing it off with a seriously bad attitude and what comes out of the pot? Our newest band to watch, the hugely promising and soon to be venue-filling This Be the Verse.
The similarities between TBTV and NIN are easy to notice from the offset but if you listen more tentatively, you find far more depth to them than just that. Creative lead Ed Melech certainly knows how to deliver an absolutely evil sounding slice of industrial-electro and from the moment you hear the drums which open the self-titled track from their recent EP, Consequences, he has your full attention.
The teasingly short three-track EP is all it takes for Melech’s vision to be ingrained in your head and eager for more. Second track ‘Names and Numbers’ is equally raucous and likely to leave an impression and ‘Ungrateful Me’ slows the tempo and allows for the tight musicianship of the band to come to the fore.
After the release of ‘Consequences’ on July 14th and my instant fanboyism that followed, I managed to grab Ed for a quick chat about the album’s reception, the future and more.
1. Hey Ed, how are you?
I am well thanks. Glad to be speaking to you.
2. Tell us a little about This Be the Verse and how you came about.
TBTV essentially started in my bedroom as a collection of demos I made. I developed the recordings and when the time was right I went about finding musicians for the band. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for some time and I’m glad the ball is now rolling.
3. You recently released your first EP, Consequences. How has the reception for it been so far?
It’s been good. A lot of people who know me have not seen that side of me as a performer and so I get the impression they are pleasantly surprised. People’s response to the music has been really great. I know it’s not for everyone but those who do like it seem to really like it.
4. What would you say influences your music the most?
Usually watching other bands or even DJs influences me the most. I often find the day after watching a band play I write music very easily.Â
5. How far away is an LP? Any dates in the pipeline or are you just going to wait and let it come?
There is more than an album’s worth of material and I’d like to go into the studio towards the end of the year. We’ve started slipping album tracks into our sets to see how they go down and when I feel we have ten killer tracks which work together as an album we’ll go into the studio.
Hopefully that will be later this year.
6. Who else should we be listening to right now?
I highly recommend the Mica Levi soundtrack for Under the Skin. I also listened to the soundtrack for The Social Network the other day on vinyl and it sounds far superior than the digital versions I have heard so I recommend that. I also love the latest mini album from Leon Vynehall.
In terms of heavy music, I’d always suggest sticking a Tool album on. I’ve just started listening to 10,000 Days again and that sounds killer.
7. And finally, why should we all have a listen to the Consequences EP?
Because it will blow away the cobwebs.
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