What I love about S.C.U.M is that they took the time out to perfect the sound that is on their debut album, Again Into Eyes.

I remember first hearing them two years ago with the single Visions Arise and I was in awe of the bass-line and how beautiful and ghastly Tom Cohen’s voice was. Of course they are going to get compared to The Horrors- that’s not a bad thing. It’s good that a band like The Horrors can now be seen as an influence. However, there is nothing you can compare the bands with. So what if they both have captivating front-men and posses great musicianship? A lot of bands already do, doesn’t mean you can say they are like whoever.

Yes, Huw Webb is Rhys Webb from The Horrors brother- again irrelevant. He’s not lurking in his brother’s shadows. There’s no lurking or riding off the coattails of another’s here. It’s straight up originality. If you don’t like it, what’s wrong with you?!

Again Into Eyes- shall we commence the wondrous dissection? Alright then.

Firstly, I need to tell you that this album is full of wonderful imagery that just casts you into a different dimension. There are gloriously dark tones to this album but at the same time you can picture yourself stranded on a cliff gazing afar and not being scared of falling. That’s what I get from this album, especially with the track Cast Into Seasons. You don’t need me to tell you just how good Amber Hands and Whitechapel are- you should already know this. If you haven’t, what have you been listening to?

Summon The Sound has this petrifying and slightly distorted sound. You can imagine Tom Cohen hiding in the shadows waiting to chase you off into the night. He’s an attractive young man, so you’d probably turn around and ask him for a cuddle. If it isn’t Tom Cohen, then run. Run as fast as you can. Again, this goes back to what I mentioned earlier about the album having dark tones to it. It’s menacing in some points, his vocals really do give you goose-bumps at times.

When a band can exceed your expectations with their first album, you know that they are going to last longer than most.

Sentinal Bloom starts so beautifully. The intro does feel like a flower coming into bloom, then Tom’s delicate voice pushes through. On a few tracks on the album, his voice reminds me slightly of Brian Molko- but less nasally (I love Placebo, this is by no means me being negative towards them at all.)

There are haunting synths, decadent bass-lines, powerful vocals, hypnotising guitars and dominant drumming on Again Into Eyes. The whole album just makes you feel like you’re coming alive and out of hibernation.

In a better context, it is almost as if S.C.U.M is blowing away any doubters, competition or awful bands with this album. A debut album can be a solid blueprint for any artists’ career, going by this debut- you cannot help but be excited about the future of S.C.U.M.

With artists such as Anna Calvi releasing albums this year that have a dark, euphoric sound that just takes the listener elsewhere, then maybe this is what the mainstream needs? Life isn’t all sunshine and happiness you know. There’s more to life than joy, not everyone is always happy and not everyone wants to listen to music that makes them dance.

S.C.U.M has created this amazing work of art, if you overlook this debut album, then shame on you. The calibre of music being produced in this country every year/ we just won’t stand for your shallow, manufactured shit no more. Thank you S.C.U.M. Thank you for creating something we can believe in!