Seven Stories High - 'Deadweight' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Apathy

2. Midas

3. Hoax

4. Alchemy Part 1

“Deadweight” is the latest EP from Swansea Pop Punks Seven Stories High which is loosely based on the tale of King Midas. A concept EP?? Heaven help us!

But this one works…adapted as it is to focus on the struggles of mental health the four songs “Apathy”, “Midas”, “Hoax” and “Alchemy Part 1” hang together to form a cohesive story and showcase the talents of this quintet.

“Apathy” is first up and my personal favourite of the bunch, with a brilliant chorus that has you singing along and then stopping to say “hang on…” – I love stuff like this that works on different levels…you can just enjoy the blast of energy on a superficial level but then you listen more closely to the lyrics and it makes a genuine connection. Who among us hasn’t felt like this at some point? And if you haven’t, then you’re one lucky person. And if you get the chance, check out the video on YouTube…self written it’s a blast and features some scissor kicks that give hope to us all.

“Midas” takes on a slower pace at first and vocalist Rhys Hyett-Ferrier expresses the emotion in the song brilliantly. The song then builds but the emotion remains and the lyrics are just the right side of poignant to touch this old cynics heart.

“Hoax” blasts off in a whirl of guitar and drums but again the lyrics burst out at you, catching you off guard - “You know I’ll let you down when you need me”…it’s a brutally honest two and a half minutes of pure magic.

Last up comes “Alchemy Part 1” which, to be honest, I struggled with at first but with repeated listens grew on me. It’s still to my mind the weakest of the four songs but, given the company it’s keeping, that’s not to say it’s a bad song.

I’d recommend you check the EP (and the video) out…these guys offer substance over bluster and at this time of year, when plastic music comes out to milk the Christmas cow, that is most definitely a good thing.