We recently reviewed the track Coming Up by The Hell and the Quiet, and in doing so found ourselves desperate to hear more from the indie rockers. Armed with guts, catchy riffs, and wonderful melodies, the female-fronted band are reminiscent of groups such as Metric and The Big Moon, which is no bad thing in our eyes.
They’re a band from Minneapolis (admittedly not an area well known for its musical output), that have a relatively small fanbase at the moment, but we predict great things for them in the future. For one, their music is catchy, yet somehow manages to keep a raw edge to it, with buzzsaw indie guitars aligning alongside soft and sultry vocal melodies.
There are a few rough edges still (which is to be expected), but this is something that actually endears the band to us, as it’s clear that they’re a passionate bunch. The aforementioned Coming Up is still our favourite track from the EP, but we also really enjoyed Strange Days Again, which heads down a slightly different route to the rest of the songs on To Where and From. An eerie guitar riff runs throughout, and whilst the male vocals may through you off at first after having listened to the rest of the EP, they add something special to the song. We prefer the female vocals overall, but it’s nice to hear the contrast between the two styles.
Badges is another favourite and is perhaps the poppiest track here, meaning that it may also act as an genre-crosser for those not massively into their guitar music. We certainly are into our rock stuff, but there’s nothing wrong with pop if it’s done correctly, which it most certainly is here.
We know we say this a lot, but we really do have high hopes for The Hell and the Quiet, and we reckon over the next few years they’ll start to climb the festival bills – if given the chance!