The Sheffield Scenester

The Failed Theory lads are still working away hard in the studio, and following on from the recent review of new song ‘The Gamble’ they have sent across a copy of their new single ‘Sticky Fingers’ along with it’s B – side ‘No Surrender’.

The single is another high intensity in your face offering with an amazing guitar solo running through the core of the song which holds it all together really nicely. As I noted on the review of ‘The Gamble’ the tightness and togetherness of this band is all so apparent, all four members seem to work in unison to create a unique sound in their work. Frontman Jimmy attacks this track with more vigour than the ones I’ve heard previously, he really manages to get on top of the vocal in an attacking sense not too dissimilar to that of Liam Gallagher in the early Oasis days. Again, as I noted similarly on the last review of this band, ‘Sticky Fingers’ still feels as though it could go somewhere else, at times the band are guilty of falling into the trap of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo etc, whereas the grungy sound they offer along with the top quality guitar work could benefit hugely from going into a breakdown where the highly talented members of the band would get more of a chance to show off their timing skills and allow the track to develop further.

That said though, ‘Sticky Fingers’ holds it’s own very well, and I imagine if the lads unleash it on their fans when they headline The Leadmill this April, it will go down a treat. Personally however I much prefer proposed ‘B – side’ ‘No Surrender’. To me this song has a lot more about it. Again, another excellent, interesting guitar riff is backed up with a high quality bass line and some funky drum work which along with the slightly distorted vocals and great use of backing vocals make it a great track to listen to. This song leans more towards a Nirvana/Foo Fighters influence and I think the boys in capture that sound brilliantly. Another high intensity crowd pleaser, for me the lads should consider switching this to be the single out of these two tracks, but as with all music bands often leave absolute gems as B – sides. It again goes to show that Failed Theory have a strength in depth which should lead to create a high quality EP (and eventually album) as well as a really high end live set where I can’t imagine the intensity dropping for a second.

Words by James Whitworth