Being an ageing metalhead, I can remember a time when keyboards were considered spawn of the devil and decidedly uncool. Thankfully, bands such as Godflesh and Fear Factory soon showed my kith and kin the error our ways and they’ve now been embraced by a whole new generation to add atmospherics and a new layer of heaviness to proceedings. Manx rockers Call Me Amour are undoubtedly the brightest purveyors of dark electronica and rock, and make a bold statement with their eponymously-titled EP. With Call Me Amour in their arsenal and a support slot scheduled with Set It Off on their upcoming UK tour, it’s time to break out the sunglasses because the future’s looking extremely bright.
The members of Call Me Amour had been involved in arts and music before the band formed and it’s a pedigree they bring to Call Me Amour and if proof were needed then check out opening shot ‘Happy Hell’. With a deliciously heavy riff that’s underpinned by the beat of a dark (electronic) heart, ‘Happy Hell’ is an earworm that’s been pulled from the top draw and has a chorus you’ll find yourself singing at the most inopportune moments. This is an EP that’s been built from the bottom up, with sheets of sonics layered, and the following ‘Bloom’ blossoms into a monolithic beast that towers over the listener like a hulking monstrosity, blocking out any sunlight and making you feel insignificant within its shade.
Call Me Amour makes the perfect calling card with each of the five tracks showing a different facet of the band, and ‘Good Day’ is an oven ready anthem that will serve the band well on their upcoming live dates. It’s very pit-inducing and should really come with some kind of health warning (i.e. “may cause outbreaks of moshing”) and its chorus demands that thousands of voices sing along. While this might be a diverse EP, the invisible thread stitching it all together is emotion, no matter how heavy things get, the band tug at our heartstrings and this makes for a collaborative experience; this isn’t a release you merely listen to, but rather something that you engage with and no more so than on final track ‘Dreams’. Certainly not made for somnambulists, it’s a song that builds towards a cataclysmic conclusion and one that ensures the band won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
2025 could possibly be the year of Call Me Amour.
Track List:
1. Happy Hell
2. Bloom (Ft. Scott Kennedy)
3. Good Day (Ft. Mikey Chapman)
4. Where’s the Chemistry?
5. Dreams
