We Are Harlot’s Self Titled Debut Throws Rock Under The Microscope

The collective of established artists from varied backgrounds are ready to throw the spanner into the works. We Are Harlot’s self titled debut examines the widely discussed and highly opinionated subject of ‘what is rock?’

As interesting as it is that each member was brought together from a different walk of life, the one hope that forces fingers to cross is that the audience are attracted to the music more than the novelty of a transcontinental ensemble. As strong southern riffs and hard-hitting drumbeats form an exciting and infectiously catchy rhythm, a gritty blend of soul and blues vocals echo in to add a coarse melancholic touch to the alternative and upbeat rock.

When first listening to the music, the level of skill and technique each musician has within their instrument is quite apparent. The passion flowing through each track emphasises not only their real commitment to the field, but also the education they have gathered through a back catalogue of experience and research within the style, (especially regarding an understanding of contemporary culture and what most modern day rockers have come to find tedious through years of repetitive head banging breakdowns and easy-to-follow anthem lyrics). However, there is one message almost pulsating from the quartet’s self titled album which to most within the music world are all too familiar with, and that is to party hard.

With constant references to un-gentlemen like topics, the four members make sure not to lose a time-honoured tradition of bringing the party to their listeners when adapting their sound to suit a more knowledgeable generation of rock enthusiasts. With tracks such as ‘One more night’ and ‘Dancing on nails’, it becomes an unprecedented but undeniable dilemma of whether to drink yourself into an ‘upside down behind the television’ state or pound the dance floor until your feet fall off.

In retrospect however, the controversy between whether a rock band should keep a strict ‘no screaming’ policy or not within a ‘rock’ genre, is swiftly answered with regards to this particular band. The irrefutably anger-fuelled procedure seems to diminish the approach they have taken to the genre which ultimately weakens the overall strength of the songs. The sound that is produced may be more relatable to the arsenal of bands currently under the wing of ‘Roadrunner Records’, but for a group of artists who wish to escape ‘the regularity of the rock world’, they seem to have a difficult time uprooting themselves from past projects.

 With an uncommon sound that does not follow the traditional methods of following in drones behind a predictable chug & chop rhythm unlike their genre adversaries, ‘We Are Harlot’ may not be the band who ‘saves rock & roll’ but with a bit of tweaking, definitely have the opportunity to be the first of many to give new meaning to the title.

To find out more about We Are Harlot click here.

To visit the We Are Harlot Facebook page click here.

Words by Nathan Roach

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