Gaoler's Daughter sound like all your favourite indie bands combined. Is this a good thing?Gaoler's Daughter – a London based quartet – have incorporated a plentitude of differing indie styles into their sound. Each song on 'Rhyme & Treason' has a different character; making it rather difficult to conclusively decide which indie subgenre the band belongs in. More often than not, bands that vary styles or genres from song to song claim to be 'pushing boundaries' wherein actuality they lack coherence, confidence and direction. This is not quite the case with Gaoler's Daughter – their aspirations to appeal to all fans across the indie spectrum are clear and confident.
Alex Turner's Arctic Monkeys (particularly their 'Humbug' direction) and The Last Shadow Puppets have clearly been an influence on these Londoners, with both 'Shark In A Sink' and 'Famous Green Dress' containing one or more of the key elements of Turner's songwriting. 'Shark In A Sink' flits back and forth from a somber tempo to an energetic one, much like the 'Monkeys, and goes out with a spirited, guitar-driven bang packed with sharp, layered riffs. 'Famous Green Dress' sounds exactly like a Turner ballad, and for that reason alone it is a little disappointing – even Sterry's vocal delivery sounds too similar to Alex Turner’s whine.
The most instantly gratifying track on 'Rhyme & Treason' is 'Angry Eyes,' a little indie-gem laced with hints of reggae and folk. Fantastic strumming and plucking by singer/guitarist Sterry and second guitarist Mahood, but as likeable and catchy as this tune is it just sounds too much like The Libertines. Just as Sterry took too much of Turner's whine on board for 'Famous Green Dress,' here his voice contains a little too much of Pete Doherty's trademark slurring-drawl for it's own good. 'Anyone' contains Sterry's best vocal performance (even if it does lack the immediacy of the other three tracks) simply because he isn’t trying too hard to sound like one of his indie heroes. Intriguingly it contains a kind of shoegazing and noise-pop edge to it, which despite not really fitting the overall tone of this EP makes for one of the most interesting listens available here.
So Gaoler's Daughter's new EP isn't particular original (no, splicing together elements of Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines, The Kooks and My Bloody Valentine does not make for an original sound, no matter how openly and confidently those elements are put together), but it is pleasing to the ears. Well written and well performed, this EP suggests Gaoler’s Daughter are capable of achieving great things. They just need to iron out those obvious similarities to their influences. Check out 'Rhyme & Treason' upon its Valentine Day release. // Gaoler's Daughter
Gaolers Daughter - Angry Eyes by Music Liberation
