That Howden Sound - The OK Social Club

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

Now into their third EP, you’d think it would feel like business as usual for Edinburgh four-piece The OK Social Club. Named after their producer, Andy Howden, 'That Howden Sound' collates three different songs of jagged indie-punk.

The fraction of a second of feedback at the start of opener Getting Away With It is like being allowed a tiny breath before having your head thrust underwater at the deep end. The song is a Libertines-inspired track for people with a short attention span. The fast-paced guitars start and stop and the drums rush, with none of the sections lasting more than ten seconds before a change. The breaks in the song feel like moments where the runaway train has caught air, before it hits the ground again with a crash.

The hook of Little Broken Bones is a call and response between guitar licks and vocal punches over snare-rolls, with a very Strokes-y chorus melody. The bass rattles and oozes through its punky riff. The lyrics sing of a rose tinted look at school day antics. The joy in this song, though, is in the razor-edged, distortion-drenched “rock out” outro.

RMT (Radio Days) is mostly an acoustic song, with a “la la la” chorus and sweet harmonies, but near the end it bursts into a red-walling distortion session.

In only eight and a half minutes the EP is over, leaving the listener definitely wanting more. But with three differently presented songs held together by straightforward songwriting, The OK Social Club have avoided any unnecessary sections or redundant repetition. They have simply cut out every ounce of fat from the tracks, presumably to help them slip into their skinny jeans.

Myke Hall