Artist: The Downfall
Title: Transporter
By Conor Duffy

Of all the reviews I've written tonight, this is the one I feel worst about, because it took me so God damn long. So, big apologies to The Downfall, I promise to never let it happen again. Or at least until the next time I sit around for two months then realise I have three essays to write and numerous projects to finish.

Anyway, onto Transporter , the debut album from Leeds group The Downfall. The band has been going hard since 1999, releasing numerous EPs and gigging up and down the UK. Transporter sees them pound out a series of grungey anthems that in today's emo-centric rock environment could catch on. The riffs are great, and there's enough heaviness for it to appeal to rock fans while still holding enough hooks to catch the more pop-oriented music buyer. However, I couldn't help feel the guys are constantly holding back. While moving in an even heavier direction might alienate them from the masses, in my view it's the way they need to go. Great tracks like ‘Martyr' are let down by lodging in choruses that appear to be an attempt to appeal to the mainstream, when really they needn't. The first seven seconds of ‘Yourself and No One Else' is wonderfully different and interesting and should have been exploited instead of relying on a fairly generic rock riff, regardless of how catchy it is. Singer Dunk Bray lets out a fantastic Casey Chaos-like yell on ‘Over Now' but tempers it with a vocal style that reminds me of the lead singer of The Calling (sorry.)

Any band that's been together for as long as this band has must be tight as hell and totally committed. Both are necessary if you want to achieve any success. But for The Downfall, I think they also need to push themselves even further over the edge. The potential to leave audiences rioting and listeners in a quivering heap is there, they just need to grab it.

Visit: http://www.downfall.info/ and http://www.voltagerecords.com/