Second Hand Guns – Two Songs EP
Two Songs by name, two songs in total. Still, you’ve got to have a bit of nerve then to call this otherwise strong double A-side an EP. Either way, Second Hand Guns , a Manchester-based four-piece, successfully avoid fawning facsimile on this their debut release, resolutely stamping it with their own brand of British beef.
Fast out of the tracks, “Send My Love” is full of crunching, rough-edged bass and preliminary post-punk riffs, but it’s not until halfway through, when the track loses it throwing in competing solos, that it really leaves a mark.
On the digital flip, and with slightly flatter production, “Spanish Shores” flexes its muscle with pronounced drumming and foreboding guitar, while vocal duty ranges from the an Alex Turner -like Northern jaunt to an acerbic snarl that recalls Ben Gautrey of The Cooper Temple Clause . Perhaps responsible for the track’s name, later vocal emoting/showboating also evokes the Iberic peninsula, if not quite its beaches to boot.
The fledgling Second Hand Guns set-up are making tentative steps sure, but ones in the right direction all the same.
~The Two Songs EP is out now, available via iTunes, Bandcamp and Spotify.~