But when it grabs you, it does so with vice-like grit. The sudden injection of Gabriella Rose King’s angered vocals to One Cuff Fits All and Doomsday Lottery promotes a sense that anything could happen right now. That thrilling freakishness even aligns the band with creatively volatile punks Jools or the more easily digested Hot Milk. Crazed sax, sounds skittering desperately like trapped flies, concludes The Reach and just furthers the notion that this is music without boundary.
The best thing about Curses & Prayers is that it represents an exciting birth. If Coughin’ Vicars can stick around, can grow the roots of their sound, can find more robust production to match their writing, they could develop into something more than special. Their sound, neither retro or vogue, is already close to unique and this debut, while flawed, must stand as a tantalising preview.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Killing Joke, Then Comes Silence, Zetra
Curses & Prayers is released on July 26 via Venn