Artist: The Strollers
Title: Your Reminder Has Changed
By Conor Duffy

Like many bands before them, The Strollers come from a “lifeless little town in the middle of England.” Brimming with frustration and an unquenchable energy, they have already earned the admiration of many, including Liam Watson of Toerag Studio, where they recorded their first demo, A Short Demonstration.

The follow-up, Your Reminder Has Changed, is garnering even more favourable reviews, and it’s not hard to see why. The three tracks are tightly played infectious numbers, and the band sounds undeniably British, instead of making some futile attempt at a faceless style. Nor do the songs seem emotionally empty. The lyrics are at times remarkably poetic, from the opening line of the opening track, 'Into The Dark' (“And the dark of the night is turned as the fires burn their stern eyes into you”.) There’s a sense of perfectionism here; that “good enough” isn’t really. The Strollers make it very clear in the accompanying statement that the objective is to make art, “something beautiful,” as they so eloquently put it.

Unfortunately, while what they have recorded may be beautiful, it’s also very similar to just about any British band in the public consciousness today. The guitar reminded me mainly of Bloc Party (admittedly, no bad thing), while at other times I couldn’t help but see a range of groups from Kaiser Chiefs to Babyshambles to the newest darlings of popular music, the Arctic Monkeys. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it just worries me that when this particular musical movement goes bust, as it inevitably must, bands that are just starting to make some noise like The Strollers will find themselves with nowhere to go.

I do believe, however, that The Strollers will not allow themselves to go down that particular cul-de-sac. Nor do I believe a band that writes such wonderfully catchy songs can be written off so easily. 'It Breaks' in particular has a lot of potential, as its almost atonal vocals, spiky riffs and melodic bass have a serious charm. If The Strollers can capitalise on the poppier aspects of their music while still growing and evolving, there’s a very good chance that they will outlive their more cynical, careerist peers.

Strollers website: www.thestrollers.co.uk
Cover picture taken from: www.thisisfakediy.co.uk