Album Review :: Calva Louise - Rhinoceros

Album

Calva Louise

Rhinoceros 

February 1 2019 (Modern Sky)

6.5/10

Words: Richard Cobb

London indie grunge-pop-punk trio Calva Louise finally let loose their debut full-length, ‘Rhinoceros’. Having caught the band live in Edinburgh almost exactly one year ago supporting Spring King, it’s been a busy old year of live shows building up to letting this 10-track record of its cage.

Much like the band’s frantic hundred-miles-per-hour live shows, the album - produced by Margo Broom (Fat White Family, Goat Girl) - keeps its foot firmly on the accelerator for the majority with little let-up until the amp’s engines are temporarily extinguished and an acoustic is uncovered on track nine, 'Down The Stream.’ It adds a welcome bit of variety, though could have perhaps been introduced slightly earlier in the proceedings to give the ears a bit of a breather.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a very good introduction to the band and there’s some early gems in the form of single outtake 'I Heard A Cry’, and ‘No Hay’ which showcase the band’s signature sound perfectly; as does ‘Tug Of War', bringing out their ferocity in trademark anthemic style, with silky guitar work, sharp vocal bite and abundant infectious riffs.

It just feels as though they’re perhaps in danger of a verging on slightly one-dimensional song structure at times; though this can be a regular feature with a band’s debut album so it’s maybe not a huge surprise.

The highlight comes in the form of the last orders ‘Out Of Use’ which sounds like a guitar being played through  a microwave with singer Jess Allanic sounding as unhinged and passionate as Karen O in her heyday.

It’s always going to be an uphill struggle for a band to fully replicate the energy and fun from a live show onto a record, and it’s maybe not quite the beast they had in mind when they set out to capture it, but Calva Louise have certainly given it a good crack here and it’s not a bad starting point at all.