Album Review: Middlenamekill - When Lions Fight Bears

The thing with unsigned bands is that whenever they put out a record you know they are going to put their heart and soul into it because everything’s coming out of their own pocket. Which makes for a gem of a debut album from UK alt-rock band, Middlenamekill.

'When Lions Fight Bears' is choc-full of flawless rock tunes from album opener 0.75 to 'The Victory of Echo over Voice', it’s clear that the Salisbury quartet haven’t held back. For a self-release the band haven’t skimped on songs either - proving you can indeed have quality and quantity - showcasing an impressive 14 tracks which were recorded over the course of a year.

A welcome concoction of Reuben, The Xcerts and Biffy Clyro, Middlenamekill are sure to be making waves with the exceptional effort. 'Eject. Eject. Eject'. is a fierce track complete with heavy riffs and killer chorus, 'Safety in Numbers (Hello, I’m Angry)' is rockingly fantastic while 'Meet Me On The Ground Floor' (featuring vocals from 16 year old Sadie-Lee Cooper from Caught in the Crossfire) enchantingly engaging.

The album as a whole is beautifully professional and consistently solid. It’s bands like this that remind us that the UK has a flourishing scene and there still remains a massive amount of undiscovered gems out there. If there’s any justice in the world you’ll be hearing more from this band.

5/5

Chantelle 'Kiki' Goodchild