Sounds like…

The Tom Vek EP we needed for lockdown

The Review

AKA George has had a long and winding road to get to make and release his own music on his own terms. It has been worth the wait – this is anarchic pop gold. ‘Bad For You’ contains five tracks that would all fit perfectly into the genre of ‘party rock’. Each track is smashing huge riffs, big reveals and a slick vocal delivery that you’d find on the Eurovision. It is what I expected Tom Vek to be pushing out but whereas he went to the dance side of indie-pop, AKA George is firmly standing with an electric guitar.

‘Bad For You’, AKA George’s single, is the perfect introduction to his music. The big guitar riffs are offset with often cool and free-flowing vocals that drop when the rock hits. It keeps the energy spiking like a heart attack. It is the first of several songs that I could see in a jeans commercial as ‘Manic Machine’ follows a similar vein.

‘Money’ is a blazing guitar riff set on fire with proud. It also helped me tune into why I really like AKA George’s voice. He sounds a little like Chris Cornell from Soundgarden fame – particularly when he gets loud and bombastic. ‘Stone Cold Classic’ is the Vek song of the album and manages to stay the right side of catchy without being cheesy. That leaves ‘Up All Night’ as a hedonistic indie-pop anthem. Whilst its the most fly and probably most accessible of the EP, I was more drawn to the full-on rockfest of the rest of the EP. It is a pop track to savour though.

Myself and by extension, this website, isn’t usually a place you’d come to find ‘good indie pop’ but when I do find someone that clicks, I need to share them with you. AKA George manages to straddle that pop hook with enough indie mess and virtuoso performance to make him stand out from the crowd with ease. Don’t bring him home to meet your mother – he’s bad for you.

Recommended track: Bad For You

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