Written By Kevin McSweeney
Apparently, these boys met in a martial arts gym, so I must remember to be nice about them throughout this review!
So anyway, this is the independently-released debut EP, available from October 2nd, from the Brighton rock trio Bela Fool, whose influences encompass alternative rock, classic rock, punk, and Britpop. In particular, they cite Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, and Toy Dolls as main influences.
We should be in for a heady mix of classic styles, in that case. Let’s go through it, track-by-track, to see what it’s all about.
No pun intended with Brighton rock, by the way!
Bela Fool Fool Me Once EP review Track By Track:
Up To Me
There’s definitely a grungy feel to this one, with it sounding at times like, say, early Foo Fighters, only with a distinctly British approach to vocals, as if there’d been a transatlantic band member exchange between the two musical subcultures that were happening concurrently on either side of the pond in the 1990s.
It’s nice to hear a conspicuously British accent in the vocals of Jordan Nihil, as opposed to the usual American affectation. He’s not unlike Steve Marriott of Small Faces in his approach, though he bears more of a physical resemblance to Andrew Tate in this track’s video, with his shaved head, sunglasses and gym-sculpted pectorals. I’m sure the similarity ends there, except for the martial arts background.
You can’t be a red-pill, manosphere guy in Brighton of all places. They’re more about the Green Party than green Bugattis in that neck of the woods.
I digress. Marriott was hugely influential to a lot of the artists of the Britpop era, hence my mentioning him. What we have here, essentially, is a case of I’ll stick around on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It works well, though it probably shouldn’t.
Once again, I find myself without a lyric sheet – it’s doing me crust in, it’s no good at all! – and I’m possibly missing out on all sorts of tales of Mrs Jones and her Bert’s lumbago. There’s more to say about this song but I’m boring myself as well as everyone else, so let’s move on.
The Ballad of Billy Jesus
I can’t help but think of The Ballad of Joking Jesus as performed by stately, plump Buck Mulligan in James Joyce’s Ulysses. I mention this purely because I’m a pretentious twat. The intro has me thinking briefly of The Only One I Know by The Charlatans.
The verse brings us clean guitars over gentle tribal rhythms and dreamy passages with an almost stoner quality. The chorus is lovely, actually – pure 1990s alternative rock excellence, and I should have mentioned by now that we’re getting some tasty solos, courtesy of Sye.
He’s come a long way since Gangnam Style, let me tell you. You can’t play guitar while you’re dancing like you’re riding a horse.
Anyway, I enjoyed this song, and I’m not just saying that because they might beat me up. I wonder if they’ve ever considered covering Kung Fu by Ash. It’s either that or turn to Carl Douglas.
Pest Control
This one starts off as a gentle, clean guitar strum-along driven by a light rhythm, and lyrics that would suggest that they definitely haven’t been following the Andrew Tate doctrine – once again, I lament my lack of a lyric sheet.
Anyway, its summery vibe almost brings to mind someone like Jack Johnson. It would work well as a bit of ska, actually. Syncopate the drums and throw in a few horns and hey presto!
When the distortion kicks in, it goes distinctly grungy, reminding me on this occasion of Candlebox during one of their many transitions from quiet verse to loud chorus.
I love how the raw emotion is conveyed through the vocals during the second rendition of the quiet, summery verse, like the chorus was bleeding into it. The solos, it must be noted, are emphatically old-school metal, bringing a touch of the 1980s to an otherwise 1990s party.
Lost Her Mind
The final track commences with a rumbling bass intro from Jonas Foote that the beat turns into something akin to A Town Called Malice by The Jam.
It opens up into a gloriously fun gospel-infused blues number with call-and-response vocals. It’s bound to be an absolute hoot in a live setting! It’s certainly going to get people dancing.
It’s upbeat blues delivered with a punk attitude and lashings upon lashings of sumptuous solos from Sye. It brings to an end an eclectic collection of songs that form this highly promising debut EP.
It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here. It’ll be interesting also to see what else Brighton has in store for us, as there’s a lot of good music coming out of that city at the moment. Keep your eyes on Metal Lair for more news of that.
Metal Lair awards Fool Me Once by Bela Fool four devil horns out of five.
Track listing:
1. Up To Me
2. The Ballad Of Billy Jesus
3. Pest Control
4. Lost Her Mind.
Line-up:
Jordan Nihil: vocals/rhythm guitar
Sye: lead guitar/backing vocals
Jonas Foote: bass
Bela Fool Online:
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Read More From This Author:
Album Review: Keep The Fire Burning by Mikey Ball and The Company
THE COLLAPSE OF A BITTER END ALBUM REVIEW: THE CARTOGRAPHER
EP Review: Beyond The New Horizon by iAtlas
ALBUM REVIEW: GREEN CARNATION – A DARK POEM, PART III: THE MESSIAH COMPLEX
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