When I first heard about Rockhaq, I realised that it presented a unique opportunity that all fans of smaller less mainstream artists and unsigned artists should take advantage of. This opportunity is to review the artists in an attempt to spread their name and help their following grow. I’ve had a few in mind for a while now but they’ve all been deathcore bands and I think that not many students in the Rockhaq community would be interested in them. So I’ve decided to go with one of my latest discoveries, an electronic indie pop band called I Call Shotgun. I don’t think they need the coverage as they have a large Facebook fanbase and have received a lot of love from big media outlets such as BBC Radio, but many of you might not of heard of them.

I Call Shotgun are a foursome from Leeds (all good music comes from up North these days) whose unique brand of electro synth indie pop (mouthful) is bouncy, heartfelt and good fun to listen to. They sound like the love child of political punk group The King Blues and indie superstars The Kooks with heavy influence from Lights (Canadian electronic musician) reggae and dub-step.

The album opener Mourning Mass kicks off with sorrowful organs whilst reggae sounding drums bring the beat in the background. Synthesisers wrap themselves around lead singer Giuseppe (Joe) De Lucca’s reggae sounding lyrics. Second track Positive Chord Changes For Impressionable Young White Girls  is a lot more synth filled and the bass is prominent throughout this song with very ska/reggae drums and guitar riffs. The vocals flick from reggae style to a sound reminiscent of The Kooks’ indie vocals on the chorus.

Third track Youth Movement is where the dub-step influence becomes much more obvious with “wob” sounds playing throughout the song. The guitar takes a back seat for this track whilst the drums and synth pick up the majority of the slack making this one of the most electric tracks on the album. When the fourth track Evie begins you’d be forgiven for thinking maybe you were listening to the opening track of a horror film soundtrack until the comforting distorted bass kicks in. The lyrics feel at their most heartfelt for this track with De Lucca singing “Girl loving you feels like a waste of time”. During the crescendo of the track the mellow album reaches the loudest its going to get with this track going almost fully dub-step.

Fifth track Lost Generation has the most prevailing indie sound coming through. This song starts slow but then speeds up for the chorus with the dub-step influence taking a stronger turn. Sixth track Becca’s Tekkers is a much slower affair and has the heaviest reggae influence on the album. The drums are at their most technical and the bass sounds like its being played rather than programmed (not a bad thing).

The final track is a remix of Evie usually I wouldn’t bother reviewing remixes but I’m making a special dispensation for this one. Its a rare occurrence these days, as most albums have a remixed track at the end, to find one of the only remixes I’ve ever heard that is actually a track mixed up rather than cut up and reformed to make a dub-step track which makes a pleasant change

I give this album 8/10 as its a really solid effort for an up and coming band. I Call Shotgun are giving this album away for a “donation” (which is a genius way of building hype) however there’s no limit on the amount so you can just enter £0.00 and get it for free It’s so good that you’ll want to go back and pay for it. It’s a cracking album which blends so many genres that I guarantee you’ll find something that you’ll like plus its free. What have you got to loose?

For fans of: Lights, The Kooks, genre blending.

Download: The entire album for free or a small donation here by liking their facebook page or check out tracks Evie and Mourning Mass

http://www.facebook.com/icallshotgunuk?sk=app_204974879526524