GREEKS The Third Division EP

The link to The Third Division EP by Greeks arrived in my inbox this afternoon. From awareness of the band's existence to listening to the music to writing this all happened in less than a quarter of a day. Such a speedy response seems fitting for something that was recorded a month ago and released just three days ago, free to download. And to this listener, something that came out of nowhere. Greeks may have been plotting this for years. Or it literally may be a creation of mere weeks – who knows. And the band don’t give too much away. On their Tumblr site the lengthiest post is from the day they went into the studio:

"If the desired effect is ‘fire’ then the ingredients are a 2003 Toshiba Satellite laptop computer (heat), Budweiser (fuel) and the works of Deerhunter, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and Pictureplane (oxygen)".

First track to put this formula to work is ‘A Ghoul! A Spook!’, a bluesy slab of primal garage thump, not unlike a higher fidelity Brown Brogues with more sneer and less growl or Sonny Boy Williamson cut-up by arty noiseniks. A fiery, feisty ball of seething attitude that had me hooked from the first listen. Ignition achieved I say. ‘Repeat On Three’ is where you hear the Deerhunter influence most; ‘King Warrior Magician Lover’ takes the JAMC drum machine and covers it with loud crackling guitars and more of that drawling sneer. ‘You Should’ve Hid Your Cypress Hill Cassettes’ never matches the promise of its title but Greeks have done enough already to impress so disappointment avoided.

In these four short tracks, Greeks bring together a rolling (Mancunian?) swagger to collide head-on with angular art-rock frazzle - and show off a myriad of alt-rock reference points along the way. Here's a band who could fill the support slot for either Times New Viking or Johnny Foreigner when they tour next month. It’s not a fully matured sound but its energy and potential overcome the moments where the song-writing doesn’t (yet) keep up.

The EP is so called because it was recorded in Hulme’s Third Division Studios – which are fictional. I hope this is a humorous nickname for someone’s bedsit rather than a fancy hoax. I so want this to be the start of a band who wants to play and to excite listeners rather than gain notoriety through mystique, misdirection or unfulfilled hype. I look forward to what promotion to a higher division brings with my fingers crossed and my hopes intact.

A Ghoul! A Spook! by greeksgreeks