Dundee band TERRAFRAID have released a new album entitled Despondent. Despite support from the local scene, will the rest of Scotland embrace it?
On the day I discover that XFM Scotland is making a comeback, I find myself listening to another Dundee band. This one is TERRAFRAID.
The definition of yearning is, “a feeling of intense longing for something”. Don’t mistake pop accessibility for careerism when it is this heartfelt, genuine and waaay too earnest. In the best way possible.
Given how music fans are likely to first hear Terrafraid on Bandcamp courtesy of track one’s ‘Smooch’, expect lots of a-poppier-Biffy comparisons. You say lazy! I say accurate!
The description based on that one track that is. You’ll have to dig deeper and actually listen to the rest of the album to hear the full breadth of influences.
And while I point out that there is an interesting mix of influences to be found, just because it has synth here and there on it doesn’t mean you can say it sounds a bit like The Cure. That’s just plain wrong.
At face value this Dundee band could be mistaken for another major label pop punk outfit rather than American Football or Braid. It has the kind of mass appeal that should make them a lot of friends and you could imagine this going down a storm live. Even for this type of thing, there’s a surprisingly thick layer upon layer of vocal melody and harmony. If you listen to this more than once it’s going to take root in your mind whether you want it to or not.
Other bands from the same area such as BONEHOUSE or KADDISH you could lazily pigeonhole as post-hardcore with more progressive ideas and screams. Terrafraid sound like they just want everyone to get along while yearning for something meaningful.
Stapleton always sounded like they’d lost the girl. Terrafraid sound like they’re still waiting to meet her.
LISTEN TO TERRAFRAID ON BANDCAMP
