The Willowz / Guards

 

I was intending this entry to be a straightforward 'looking forward to in 2013' piece, starting with 'Guards'- whose 'In Guards We Trust' album is due on February 5th. But Richie Follin's old band 'The Willowz' are deserving of more attention than a throwaway line in the introduction. I only heard of The Willowz through Follin's sister Madeline, of Cults- whose self-titled debut was one of my favourite albums of LAST year. Having 'follin' head-over-heels with Madeline thanks to performances like this; Cults- Oh My God (live), the discovery of a second Follin-led band was welcome for two reasons. First, their music was described as 'garage rock', incorporating influences from punk, soul and blues from the '60's, '70's, and '80's. Second, should I ever meet Ms Follin, my knowledge of her brother's band would surely be the perfect cover with which to infiltrate her confidence and gain her trust before taking her away to start our new life together on the Isle Of Wight. 

So, The Willowz. Not world-beaters, by any stretch of the imagination but making a decent enough racket for me and each album improves on the last. There's a pretty prolific back-catalogue to negotiate, and while all songs are up to a decent standard there are several stand-outs, and enough variety to display their talents. Reading around, the vocals come in for criticism in some quarters and while some songs, like 'All I Need' could perhaps be even better with a stronger voice behind them, it's perfect for the nasal, punky sneer of 'Get Down'. For the most part, Richie Follin comes across like a sort of Jack White Junior ('Unveil'), and the blues-rock-country sound is not a million miles away from The Raconteurs. Whereas Kings Of Leon for example have ended up playing arenas and stadiums, Willowz are the type of band much more suited to (and I'd expect more comfortable) playing to crowds counted by the dozen, thrashing out their bluesy-rock fare in dingy, sweaty 'dive bar' venues. Their five albums are; 

The Willowz (2004), Something

The Willowz Are Coming (2005), Meet Your Demise, I Wonder

Talk In Circles (2005), Toy

Chautauqua (2007), Take A Look Around

Everyone (2009) Everyone

and worth checking out for an unpretentious mix of thrashy guitars, howling vocals, riffs and a garage-rock sound.

Back to 'Guards'. A free EP (available here) recorded in 2010 is like the bridge between Willowz and Cults. The highlight of which is 'Crystal Truth'. Replacing the riffs with a more 'indie' sound, the dreamy fuzz and echo of Cults underpinned by the alternative 60's influence of the organ. In the time since the EP's recording, Guards have emerged as a far more polished, finished article. Tracks like 'Coming True' will undoubtably lead to more attention. 'Silver Lining' is a breezy gem of a pop song- 'I want to live forever in a boat out on the sea'. Floating about on Youtube are some Guards tracks not on the tracklisting for the album, 'I See It Coming' almost Arcade Fire/Funeral-esque. Appetite well and truly whetted by the EP and the likes of 'Don't Wake The Dead', 'In Guards We Trust' is definitely one of my most anticipated debuts of 2013.