Time N Time Again saunters in with all the maturity, explosive sound, and bluesy beauty of a Black Sabbath track. Vocally it roars with blood spattered chords, sonically it growls with due passion in the drums and guitar, and compositionally it introduces a band who are already way ahead of their tender years.
Music is a funny old thing, sometimes something incredibly technically intricate can feel hollow whilst something beautifully simple can speak volumes beyond the sum of its part. The Afternoon Sessions prove that they have that unteachable touch that can make any track sing, that indescribable touch of the divine that lifts a song into the heavens.
This song which acts as the finale to their debut EP ‘Stand Rd: Side1‘ is somewhat of a completely different flavour to the rest of the compilation. Similar to the ending of Sum 41‘s ‘All Killer No Filler‘ the track acts as a flagpole hoisted that flies the colours of the bands influences and just how good it would sound if they dived down the route of straight homage.
The band don’t do that though, instead they incorporate this sound into their other songs to provide something new, and utterly unique.
Vocally the performance does an excellent job of matching the intensity of the lyrics. It goes from a caterwauling wail to a fervent scream. Every line is dripping with the passion and feeling of the pen that wrote it. If this isn’t just straight up blues I don’t know what is.
The track moves through various phases but each is peppered with perfect instrumentation from cheeky fills to machinegun moments on the drums, and gorgeous soaring riffs mixed with tasteful and soulful solos on the guitar.
It feels like an unknown classic from the golden era, a song that a friend plays on vinyl after being incredulous that you had never heard of the band. But it isn’t, it’s now, and it’s perfect.
Words by Matt Miles
