Who knows what they put in the water in the Midlands, but there seems to be quite a thriving grunge and alternative scene lurking in the darkness there. The generation who grew up in thrall to the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and their ilk now have bands of their own and are putting their own unique spin on the music that meant so much to them. One of the oldest and most established names on the Midlands scene is, unquestionably, Resin. Based in Hinckley, just outside Leicester, Resin spent years building a name for themselves, peaking (or so it seemed) with two rapturously received performances at Bloodstock festival, one acoustic and one electric only for the whole thing to fall apart. The pressures of maintaining a band, a family and a full-time job all played their part and, like so many bands before them, Resin splintered into pieces, another casualty of an industry that all too frequently looks far more glamourous from the outside than it actually is.
Most would have given up. But if you’ve met guitarist Simon Yarwood or seen the rabid ball of energy that is Mark “Chez” Roseby in action, then you’d know that giving up is as alien a concept as the voluntary removal of facial hair. Instead, they buckled down, built a massively successful promotions company (who now put on the best gigs in Leicester) and slowly went through the difficult process of finding new members. It took a year, all told, to get the right people and develop new songs, and the result is the three-track EP ‘persecution complex’, which has been garnering a substantial buzz.
Opening with ‘open heart trauma’, a surging beast that moves from a brief, reverb-drenched intro to a slithery riff that brings to mind a cross between Silverchair and Ten-era Pearl Jam, it’s a powerful number that shows just how little Resin have been fazed by the last year’s ups and downs. It’s a chunky song with strong riffs and guitar work, whilst new vocalist Dave Gandon provides suitably gritty melodies which fit the song perfectly. It’s not always easy to combine power and melody without compromise, but Resin tread that line with conviction and the powerful production helps to bring out each element with enviable clarity. ‘Printing money’ kicks off with a surging, lurching riff underpinned by Stu Reynolds’ crushing percussion. Dave’s vocal is positively Vedderish here with a subtle wash of reverb enhancing his whiskey ‘n’ fags growl whilst the guitars coalesce into a solid wall behind him. The EP ends with the atmospheric ‘angel’, a creepy downtempo number that crawls into the dark recesses of your brain and lodges there. Recalling the earliest minor-key experiments of Nirvana (before they washed everything in studio polish with Nevermind), ‘angel’ is closer to the likes of ‘pen cap chew’ and it gains greater weight through the restraint exercised by the band who carefully dole out the heavier riffs at key intervals.
Resin always were, and remain, an ambitious band. With only three tracks, Resin have done a good job of showcasing their heaviest riffs as well as a darker, more atmospheric side that only adds to their cachet. Where a lesser band would have crumbled under the weight of losing so much momentum after so successful a year, Resin seem to have come back stronger than ever and ‘Persecution complex’ is undoubtedly their finest recorded work to date. With compelling artwork, a powerful lyric video (embedded below) and remarkable performances from the whole band, ‘persecution complex’ demonstrates clearly that the best music remains firmly in the underground. Forget about your big name acts, a musical storm is brewing right here in the Midlands and Resin are the vanguard.
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