Mutineers are an explosive talent, and to be honest a band that you should have heard of by now as they haven’t stopped making waves ever since they formed in 2010. With Nicholas James Mallins on vocals/synths, Michael Reed on guitar, Iwan Gronow on bass, Charles Salt on guitar and Thomas Twemlow on drums, Mutineers are very much your guitar-laden band. With their signature jangly and shimmery riffs, Mutineers are stylistically likened to The Smiths and Aztec Camera, incorporating that classic indie, new wave pop. Along with the 80s-esque atmospheric synths and pounding beats, Mutineers are masters at creating a fluidity of sounds which effortlessly glide and crash against Mallins’ idiosyncratic, emotive tones. As a front man, Mallins is the bona-fide Indie guy, who makes it look so easy, whilst captivating an audience with his soaring intensity. Having been busy working on their second album, Mutineers, as an interim, will be releasing a standalone single “Tell Me Why”, which has been selected as my single of the week. Released in September 2013 “Tell Me Why” is a great song, reminding us of the sheer talent and fresh sound that is Mutineers.
With its crunchy and stomping riffs, “Tell Me Why”, opens with a robust dexterity which showcases the song’s dramatic and weather-beaten edge. It’s a great song, which sees Mallins’ distinctive vocals, grip the songs and ooze a theatrical melancholy likened to The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev. Along with its influx of eerie synths, “Tell Me Why” embraces a 80s new-wave demeanor which compliments the stream of jangly and reverberating riffs. What’s great about “Tell Me Why” is how Mallins’ voice is etched in emotion, which synchronises with the intriguing lyrics and haunting dry-ice ambience. Lyrics such as “ You can’t sleep at night dreaming about lullabies, no escape from Agartha creatures like us…”, ingeniously amplifies the ethereal motif of the song. Notably it’s also the vortex of backing vocals where “Tell Me Why” emits a spectral mist, which compliments the stream of jangly riffs. Without tilting too much towards New Wave nostalgia, Reed, Gronow and Salt skilfully add their own guitar dimension, allowing the riffs to loosen, curve and crash against Twemlow’s pounding drums.
https://soundcloud.com/mutineersofficial/mutineers-tell-me-why