Press to MECO – 'Transmute' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Transmute

2. Another Day

3. Smouldering Sticks

4. A Test Of Our Resolve

5. Baby Steps

6. Sabotage

7. Overdue

8. Lead

9. Rusty Nails

10. Gold

11. Interlude

12. Way To Know

13. Hesitation

I’ve never found an album so difficult to review as I’m genuinely not sure who this band are or what they are trying to do. If I’m honest, I don’t really care, this album is tremendous!

Could Press to MECO be the illegitimate child of Years and Years and Metallica (that’s an image that may never leave you!)? Or perhaps they are a fusion between One Direction, Royal Blood and the Depeche Mode? Or they could be Biffy Clyro fused with the Monkees?

The reality is it really, really, doesn’t matter! This is one of those records you discover and wonder how you managed to live without it, questioning why it’s not been on your playlist non-stop for the last month. It’s out on the 20th of August, everyone should form an orderly queue now. If you like your music, challenging, interesting, on the rockier side but with vocals that really feel like they shouldn’t always work (but they so do!) and guitars that some of the aforementioned bands would kill for then you need to listen to this (but with songs that appear every so often that really don’t feel like they belong on the same album while working on a level I’m still trying to comprehend) then this is the record for you.

I would try to pick a standout out favourite song or something to recommend you listen to as your introduction to this album but I really can’t as I can’t pick one, just listen to it all, now and then again and again. If this doesn’t do it for you then you may not actually like music?

If I had to give you a pointer as to who this band sounds like then I would probably say Biffy but as I write this they suddenly sound like Extreme circa More Than Words with a hint of of Ricky Martin!

I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever been so challenged, confused and intrigued by an album. It reminds me of the first time I discovered Radiohead, I don’t think they are yet in that league but given time? This is a band who could be on a massive upwards trajectory. They are poppier at times than Radiohead would ever consider being but maybe it’s time for something a bit different? If it is then my money is currently on Press to MECO!