Sheffield’s rock scene has always been one we are proud of as a city. The likes of While She Sleeps and Bring Me The Horizon have been the jewell in the crown in recent years, but the underground scene has continued to breed an abundance of bands with equal chances of making equally big waves. Local five-piece Order of Voices have been flogging away over the last few years, culminating in the release of their debut album in 2011. On March 13th they bring out the follow-up, ‘Constancy’.
So what does a good rock album need to be made up of? With so many groups trying their hand at it, it needs to original, and instantly draw a crowd in. Recent single ‘Long For Air’ certainly does that. But with ten new tracks on their new long-player, keeping up the pace can often be where many bands fall flat. ‘Constancy’ kicks proceedings off in good stead with full on album opener ‘Hand in Hand.’ And that leads me to the second thing a good rock album needs to have; it needs to kick ass.
Order of Voices know how to rock. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in your local rock club. Can you imagine yourself shirtless, drenched in sweat and violently banging into strangers on the dance floor when listening to an album? If the answer is yes, then we’re on the right track. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in the mosh-pit at Corporation (or insert name of rock club in your city here), but this is certainly the music I can see myself doing it to. The boys are obviously never happier than when they are thrashing away at their axes, or beating several shades of shit out their drum kit.
There’s little let up in pace throughout, delivering killer track after killer track. Each song seems to be designed to be played as part of a live set. Whether they can keep up the same energy on stage is left to be proved, but tracks like ‘Diametric’ and ‘Affirmation’. But behind the guitars stands an emotive vocal. Which leads me to ‘Speak Aloud’. Strip everything else back, and you’re left with this Nirvana-esque journey of a track right in the middle of the album that slowly builds from the instrumental opening bars, to a more laid back vocal styling that kicks in halfway through. No one trick ponies here. ‘Speak Aloud’ for me is the stand out song on ‘Constancy’, showing a different side to the boys.
The album closes with ‘Server This’ a smugly self-assured track that says ‘we-rocked-this’, and ‘we’ll be back’. And the boys have every right to be smug, with this incredibly accomplished album under their belt.
