The Wesleys “S/T”

If we’re honest, the first thing that attracted us to The Wesleys was the hope their name may have been inspired by the Norwich legend Wesley Hoolahan. Sadly, that’s not the case. However, the fact that musically they are influenced by bands like The Lemonheads and The Replacements meant that we definitely still needed to check this album out.

Opening track “Make It My Way” comes as a bit of a surprise initially as there is a quite solemn and almost Joy Division feel to the opening. But it soon blooms into a more jangly indie rock sound. The darker than expected, and almost British, feel reappears on tracks “You Better Believe it” and “Death By The Bite”.

You can certainly appreciate a love for the melodic indie rock of bands like the Lemonheads on the dreamy sounding “A Lot To Lose” and “I’ve Been Waiting”. But The Wesley’s seem pretty intent on not allowing the listener to fall into an easy lull. They keep us guessing by throwing in a track like “Fucked up” which, as the title implies, has a harder edge with an almost industrial feel. It sounds quite jarring at first, but after repeatedly listening to the album it has ended up as one of our favourite tracks. That’s followed by “25” which also has a punkier vibe to it.

For those that are more interested in melodies, they are more than catered for on songs like “Radio Circus” and “The Great Big Smile”. These are the kind of tracks that seem written for a hazy sunny day listen. The second of those songs actually had us reminiscing about Summerteeth era Wilco.

This is a great debut album. That’s not only because it stands up in its own right but it also suggests great future things for the band. There is the sense that the band are only just starting to hit their musical stride and the opportunities for them to go in numerous directions with their sound, is exciting. Definitely a band where you want to be buying this and getting into them early.