THE MUMBLES release their new album by end of november. Before that, I got it for a prelistening. And I was very surprised of what I got. They call them self keyboard driven rock’n'roll – I coll em Gothic Rock without guitars. Followers of my site know that I am a great supporter of the “guitar free” scene .

If it didn’t come out clearly: THE MUMBLES are only two quite young lads from england (surprise) which are playing SISTERS OF MERCY styled gothic rock, but without guitars. They are on stage with only vocals and a keyboard. And they don’t seem that want to change this.

And I think they are right. They music got a very extraordinary sound. It’s gothic rock clearly. I mean, if the SISTERS would drop dead except for Andrew Eldritch (and the immortal Doktor Avalanche), this would be THE MUMBLES. Hm, after i wrote it – maybe THE MUMBLES are the Sisters? Who knows! Looking at their promotional pics, they guys even look like a young version of Sisters. For me, a long term Sisters fan and supporter of strange ideas like rock music without guitars, they are totally welcome.

All the songs are well done. I cannot claim about it. The voice of Robert is brilliant and the guy is a very good singer. While I enjoyed the songs structures, I need to say that I sometimes miss the steam which comes out from a good bass player or maybe even a guitarist. The whole record could need more bass freqs. More kick, more bass guitar! The songs itself already have steam and power, but the production does not support it totally. This is a pity! Sometimes THE MUMBLES use distorted keyboards for guitar replacement. I experimented with that stuff myself, but I think it sounds to clean for using. Better leave guitar sounds off and use something which sounds like a fat synthesizer.

However, besides this comments: I would buy a CD copy if I would seen them live. I think if you are interested in young but very promising bands and like the SISTERS, you should risk an ear. Good songs, good musicians, great idea. Some more kicks are needed for major success, but this will come in future. Definitly a band one needs to follow. Let’s hope they get an bassplayer on board and they buy a bus and start touring through UK. We know what the end of this story is. And after Andrew Eldritch begins to smell like a zombie, we urgently need some fresh blood.

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