Fox Reviews Rock

Introduction

Established in 2020 in Leeds, Radio Aftermath has blended its distinct musical influences to craft a signature sound. By collaborating and inspiring one another, the band produces anthemic alt-rock tracks packed with more hooks than a fisherman’s box!

After the release of their self-titled EP in 2022, they are now back with “Pronoia”. Their second EP, and we believe it’s their finest work to date! Let’s take a closer look now with our review.

Review

Irradiated – When it comes to EP intros, this one stands out in a unique way. Yet, I’m not entirely sold on the background noise. I appreciate the concept of starting an EP with a drum intro. But the added voices and other sounds feel a bit unnecessary to me. They tend to distract rather than add to the impressive technical drumming skills on show.

Acute Angle – The opening riff alone pulls me right into this track, and I can’t help but start headbanging. The mix isn’t quite spot on; the deeper vocals can be a bit hard to decipher. Once the clean vocals come in, though, everything improves significantly. The instrumentation is tight throughout, showcasing the band’s technical prowess.

By the time we reach the middle of the song, the issues with the unclean vocals have been resolved. Then, out of nowhere, the song shifts into a prog-rock section. The instruments pull back. The vocals shine brilliantly. The instruments shine in their own right just moments later. “It’s not my fault you feel this way”… Yeah, that’s going to be in my head for weeks after writing this review!

Fetid – This track stands in stark contrast to the earlier one, emitting strong Foo Fighters vibes. The vocal harmonies resonate perfectly with me in this piece. I would suggest this sound for the band to pursue in the future. It would definitely be a great direction.

It’s powerful, anthemic, and incredibly enjoyable! I also find the song’s structure quite intriguing; it has certainly captured my attention! This song has plenty of catchy hooks. It has a sense of genuine unity (In a song which is about toxicity, that’s funny). This song truly speaks to me.

Grey Shapes – Grey Shapes was actually selected as the debut song on our new segment “Song of the week”! If you managed to miss that this morning you can view it here. As well as listen to it below.

Lucky at Cards – The band labelled this song as power-pop. I’m not very well acquainted with this term. I was eager to dive in. If I were to share my thoughts, I believe it leans more towards a blend of power metal. It also has elements of pop punk. It’s not pure pop. The riffs are reminiscent of what you’d find on a heavier band’s album. These riffs are paired with pop-punk style vocals. This combination makes this track quite a gem!

Strangers – This seems to be an instrumental remix of the 2nd track, “Acute Angle.” I don’t think this track belongs on the EP. It offers nothing new to the party, at least not to me.

Tabula Rasa – This track presents a fascinating vocal experience. It’s wonderfully eclectic, with a mix of styles, pitches, and captivating elements! When paired with the heavier aspects of the song, it stands out as a genuinely distinctive piece on this EP. Certain drumming sections evoke memories of early Biffy Clyro. Still, the vocals have no comparison, and that’s the charm of this track—it’s refreshingly unique and brilliant.

Conclusion

With riff upon riff mixed with hooks galore, this really is a great EP. The differing vocals on each track keep the interest levels high majority of the time. Instrumentally, it’s a really solid body of work. I would question the mix on Acute Angle. I would also remove both the drum intro in its current form and the remix track Strangers. Overall, though, this is great, and with the changes I’ve mentioned above, it’d have scored much higher. But it’s still highly respectable!

7.5/10

All the songs used in this review belong to their respective owners, and this website does not claim any right over them. All images were provided by Radio Aftermath.