Battle For Paris – With A Gun Between Your Teeth, You Speak Only In Vowels

Words: Gareth O’Malley

First off, congratulations, guys, on choosing such a great EP title. Especially so when it’s as arresting as that! Certainly makes people sit up and pay attention. And pay attention they should, for this Dorset five-piece have a great thing going for them. Joe Bush, Phil King, Chris Brown, Sam Bush and Tim Preston make quite the noise, and they’ve been lumped in with such post-hardcore luminaries as Meet Me In St Louis and The Murder of Rosa Luxemburg.

Things get off to a great start with ‘Fuck Your Déja Vu’, a real statement of intent. Constantly changing time signatures and harsh, Frank-Carter-from-Gallows-esque vocals accomplish either one of two things: they result in a listener immediately jumping ship, or intrigue them enough to hold their attention. To the uninitiated, the music Battle For Paris produce seems quite overwhelming, but persistence is the key.

‘Elaborately structured’ aren’t the words to describe this juggernaut of an EP. more ‘you had better keep up with it or you’ll get left behind’. BFP pack so many things into their songs; it really is something else.

The second track, ‘Baby, You Are My Ammunition Dump’ (again with the titles!) is overtaken mid-way through by an absolute monster of a riff. Battle For Paris may not be the most melodic band around, but when they decide to throw in a hook… fuck, they make it count.

The blistering ‘I Have The Jigsaw Man’s Hands’ finishes proceedings. So much goes on that it’s easy to forget that the EP lasts only a shade over ten minutes. Favouring rawness, power, and aggression over catchy melodies, the five-piece prove that they are each very good at what they do. A fantastic start.