From his stint on The Voice last year it was hard not to see straight away that Mitchel Emms had the raw rock charisma and stadium potential of a Dave Grohl or Kurt cobain. He finished each performance drenched in sweat, high-fiving the audience as his long blonde hair clung to his face. Now I hold in my hands his band’s (MisterNothing) first album: All My Favourite Bands Are Dead – a tribute to the kind of honest rock music they grew up listening to. It is not a release simply off the back of the ride on the TV train, the album was done and ready to be released before Mitchel was even asked to audition for The Voice.
“Thematically, it’s a dark album but put across in a pop-py way.” Mitchell tells me, “It’s basically about that and growing up as an outcast in a small town.”
Perhaps the record is slightly self-indulgent but in a positive way. It showcases everything Mitchel can do, from experiments with vocal tone and distortion, raging guitars and interestingly disjointed opening sequences. The band collectively cite their influences as Touche Amore, Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, Bon Iver, Twin Atlantic and 90s indie and alternative rock in general, which they aim to put a modern spin on.
‘Losing Game’ is a strong guitar-driven opening track full of great hooks and Mitchel’s voice slips into a high register smoothly at the end of each chorus. This is one of the best and most musically consistent tracks on the album. The raging action harmonies of ‘Steady On’ follow and then one of the most lyrically compelling songs ‘An Allusion to Everything’ brings the outcast to the fore: ‘they say I’m too hard on myself but I’m not giving into a cop-out quote / I always wanted to be part of something but always just a tag along… / …I’ll disappear, reappear, disappear until I’m missed’.
‘Dear Happiness’ opens with haunting and sparse guitar and vocals before digressing into ferocious rock. Opening a branch of communication with happiness the song lambasts homophobia and dogmatic religion, venting frustration and defiance at the state of the world (‘maybe I’m too blunt to get decent attention / when you’re letting all the puppet masters / cash in their cheques at each others’ expense… I won’t sit back and go to sleep’).
‘Fly to Mars’ is one of the stand-out tracks. Melodically it is one of the richest with a pensive opening riff and a stripped-back muted accompaniment to the first verse. It is somewhat calmer than preceding track ‘Fighter Plane’. Mitchel explores his more restrained, still heartfelt, lower vocal range.
The opening to ‘Deception’ sounds like Mitchel’s voice distorted to the point it could be a soaring guitar solo. It is an extraordinary piece of experimentation but feels more like an interlude between songs before the lyrics kick in. The body of the song is worth the wait, like ‘Fly to Mars’ the first section is restrained and heartfelt before it is brilliantly propelled into a higher tempo. With its melodic surprises and rich lyrics it is another stand-out. ‘Paralysed’ regains some of the all-action energy of ‘Steady On’ and is irresistibly catchy.
It would be hard to find a song as melodically all-encompassing as ‘Nameless Endless’. It is predominantly instrumental at least for the first three of its eleven minute running time, and I see it as a kind of epic tribute to Nirvana and Kurt Cobain. Its title harks back to the hidden track on Nirvana’s Nevermind. Mitchel’s distant screams are powerful but thanks to expert production do not overwhelm. The guitar solos are astonishing and relentless as the song progresses and contrast with the soft and subtle piano intro.
This is an extremely promising and consistent alternative rock debut which still leaves ample room for improvement. The skill, passion and creativity is undoubtedly there. The lyrical content should mature along with the band as they work together as a group and continue to develop. In their early twenties they have all the potential to be stadium-worthy rockers of the same calibre as their favourite bands, with a whole lot of life and energy to return to the genre.