It’s been a whole year since the release of the first single from The Perms’ sixth studio album Miracle. We were impressed enough to feature them as our Band of the Day, but apart from the obvious catchiness of the lead single “Lose Yourself” we were also struck by the lack of information available about this Canadian band.
In this day and age, it seemed odd; this was after all the new single from their soon-to-be-released sixth album. No worries, we thought, we’ll interview them; which we duly did but to be honest this never really got us any further into the world of The Perms. So, they remain an enigma. I am all for letting the music doing the talking but in the cut and thrust of modern marketing this seemed almost suicidal. After all, it doesn’t matter how good your band is if no-one ever hears of you.
Luckily, they did get in touch to let us know the long-awaited album was now released, and with a . As you can imagine, it came with no press release, no information about what the band are up to or, in fact… anything. Just the album. OK, let it talk.
The initial single sent back in December 2016 was “Lose Yourself” and this naturally stands out as the lead single on the album. A year has done nothing to dull the sparkle of this song. Part REM, part Cheap Trick it is just as insanely catchy a year later as when we first heard it. Given the right push this would be a sure hit.
It’s not alone either. If I was choosing a second single I would almost definitely go for “Think Less”’ which for me is another pop rock single in the same mould. Following a slow start, it soon hits into a repetitive and catchy chorus. Again, it has the hooks to really create an ear worm and would be great for the radio.
Where Miracle has surprised me is on some of the other tracks. It is abundantly clear that these guys can write radio friendly pop rock singles, but the album digs a lot deeper than this, albeit within the 2-3 minute single length format. What initially strikes me is that The Perms have a much richer seam of rock heritage than it first appears, and this adds to the depth of the record.
Take a track like “Wanted You to Know”. The vocals are punchier here, the guitars a little choppier and we are also treated to quite a good guitar solo. “Busy Izzy” is practically hard rock and here the vocals remind me of an early Alice Cooper. This added snarl and disdain to the voice is a welcome change. Again, the guitars are choppy and allows this snarl to take over the track. The chorus is a glam rock special and at times musically I can even hear hints of T-Rex. This low down dirty rock is carried onto “Turnaround” as well. This has a call and response feel to it, you can imagine this being stomped out in a festival field. I think rhythmically there is again a touch of glam about this track. The way the track almost seems to stomp through its timings and straight into the chorus.
Final track ‘Gone’ is an acoustic number and great way for the album to exit. What I do like about this record is that it could so easily fall into a 90’s indie rock trap. I mean I loved 90’s indie rock, in the 90’s, but look for something a little different now and The Perms are offering this. The guitar playing has a little more funk to it and feels more like a rock band playing an acoustic track than overly syrupy indie rock. Take the lead solo in it for example, a true rock acoustic solo.
The Perms have made an intriguing (if not too short) sixth album and I think there is enough in there to please everyone. Whether the world will get to hear it is a different matter but if you love 90’s indie rock, a touch of glam and insanely catchy radio friendly hits like a Cheap Trick reinvented, then I strongly recommend you check out Miracle now.
Miracle is out now
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9urv8e-bbM
