They say rock music is dead. They say it’s bloated. They say it’s out of fashion. They say it is tired and out of ideas. Who’s this ‘they’? Most likely The Man, trying to kill rock n’ roll for good. Sorry The Man, you can’t keep good, honest, guitar-worshipping fellows down. No matter what, rock kids will always claw their way to the stage, no matter how much cooler a guy in thick glasses tapping a Midi is nowadays. There are plenty of good, honest rock bands doing just that. Rock quintet Interim are one such band who have taken this task upon themselves with their latest EP Metanarratives.
Brissie five-piece Interim dial up the intensity on EP Metanarratives. A solid rock EP soaked in introspection and itching to show off guitar chops.
Interim owe a lot to the surging alt-rock movement Australia bore witness to in the mid to late 2000s. They take on a lot of the qualities that made that era great; big guitar hooks, catchy melodies and huge, energetic vocals. In fact frontman Alec Snow deserves plenty of credit for his part on Metanarratives, his vocals anchoring the EP. He drifts between bluesy crooning on Turn To Stone and For Your Love to the big, gutsy bellowing on Play Your Game. Snow has that quintessential rock voice, the kind that sounds good no matter what kind of music it’s paired with. It allows the band to play between the lines of genres with ease, never making any shift in pace feel too out of step.
Opening track Jack sets the scene nicely. It walks that line between hard guitar belter and more polished indie rock toe tapper. The guitar interplay is very reminiscent of Californication era Red Hot Chili Peppers which certainly earns the band some points. There are some points where the music feels like the ambient sleepmakeswaves too. Yet for all it’s merit it’s also where the slight cracks show.
It’s all well and good to be as dynamic as possible, but there are some moments on Metanarratives where it feels the band could have stripped back and focused on just the one thing, rather than shooting at every target. Take Play Your Game, it’s a belter of a track but in the grand scheme of the EP it comes of as brash and wild. The 70s metal influences don’t do the band justice. This is where they wanted to cut loose, but frankly they fare better when they reign it in.
For Your Love thankfully restores the good will the band had earned earlier. It put Snow’s abilities to the test and he is more than ready to step up to the plate. His voice floats between that of Fergus Lincare from Kingswood and the legendary Eddie Veder of Pearl Jam. I’ll be damned if the later of those two don’t serve as a massive inspiration for Interim. Everything is nuanced, from the guitars wavering in and out of the track to the steady drums that continue to build the song one step at a time to a worthwhile crescendo.
Meanwhile closing track Way Down is a visceral experience. The sombre piano matched well with the moody bass and Snow’s wailing vocals. At some points he even screeches. It gets the blood rushing and is certainly a good way to see you out.
Metanarratives is a solid six-track overall, and it certainly rocks when the time calls for it, but there are a few missed opportunities that could have really made this EP special. Hopefully we’ll see the band further hone their sound in the future to really build on the small, intimate moments that really shine. In the meantime you can catch the band in September as they play a short run of shows to launch the EP.
