Upcoming Edinburgh rockers Reiser have released EP ‘Drinking Den’ to showcase their work. BBC 6Music have spun some of the tracks while the band have been supporting fellow Scots the View and played Live Sessions for XFM. Title-track ‘Drinking Den’ instantly highlights the band’s anthemic ambition with a slightly Kasabian-like intro, without the copyrighted chanting. Lead man Chris Blair sounds like he warrants the microphone with a deeply clear voice. Meanwhile scorched guitars are Idlewild in approach but slightly less confident in method. Despite a sly high-pitched guitar twang ala Modest Mouse in ‘The Actor’, it breaks no ground for the band. They make up for this with ‘Call Me Round’ where it begins as a pastiche of the Mancunion 1990s, ever so something Roses in harmony it almost mocks the Mock Turtles, then the chorus wipes away thoughts of imitations with skilled heavy lyric and sound. The most original song goes to ‘The Ringmaster’. Balancing fun lyrics and the traditional circus-song on a high-wire of hard rock, it then reverts to acoustic ska-friendly tone for a finish that will make you wish all their songs could be as entertaining. But there is promise here; they just haven’t found ‘that’ sound.

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