I'm going to start showing my age again here, but I can't hide the fact that some of my earliest musical influences and purchases were in the late 80s. Bands such as the Mission, Loud and Curve were particular favourites - I even made the long journey North from our small village to the metropolis of Exeter to see Curve at an early gig. So I say all this because on hearing the intro to The Foreign Resorts 'Dead End Roads', the opening track from their album 'New frontiers' I was instantly transfixed. A '10 little girls' style opening, an all too familiar guide riff - this was my world, my music.
The Foreign Resort hail from Copenhagen and released 'New Frontiers' last year. They've been going since around 2009 and are a heavy gigging band with over 270 world wife shows. I feel massively guilty I haven't really come across them before, but do they seem to have only done about 1 UK gig that I could see. They certainly deserve much greater recognition over here.
The sound is intense, dark guitar driven alternative music with a high tempo, good choruses and it is undeniably influenced by bands such as the Cocteaus, the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Cure. The strength of the album lies with there being 9 consistent strong tracks. 'Dead end road is an excellent opening, with an infectious dance beat. 'Alone' sounds the most like a Cure song, with a great melody and guitar sound, and it's instantly appealing. 'Flushed' is darker, but has grown on me as I’ve listen to the album a few times. But my favourite track is 'New frontiers' itself with its great driving bass line, and huge gothic guitar intro to the chorus, a simply epic song that goes straight into my list of favourite tracks since we started our little blog.
I guess it's both a blessing and a curse that I've ended up writing about this album. On the one hand I have a genuine love for this style and sound of music, I liked the album straightaway and feel hugely comfortable with what it's trying to do. But I also realise that I can't help but listen to it pointing out the similarities and influences to other bands, which isn't always helpful - sorry I can't stop myself. But let's be really clear about something. The Foreign Resort are no cheap imitation of the Cure, and thankfully they're not simply a flour free Fields of the Nephalim either. They're a real fine band in their own right, with likeable songs, and they carve out a great individual sound which makes New Frontiers a great addition to anyones music collection. Go listen and buy!
Nordic Music Review 8/10
New Frontiers is available on Itunes, I saw traces of CDs on Amazon but not sure its had full distribution in the UK, so you might have to download it.