Medium 21 - Killings From The Dial Reviewed 10.03.03

You Are Here: > Home > Music > Interviews + Reviews > Medium 21 > Medium 21 - Killings From The Dial Reviewed 10.03.03

Medium 21
Medium 21 - Killings From The Dial (released 10.03.03)

Since first venturing beyond their hometown of Northampton this four piece rock group, led by singer/songwriter Jon Clough, have already had the sort of exposure that gets bands dubbed 'the next big thing'. They have managed to get airplay on daytime Radio 1 plus, more predictably, session slots on the Evening Session and XFM. Despite the present line-up having been together for only three years they have managed to fit in tours with a roll call of indie favourites including Ed Harcourt, Brendon Benson, The Delgados, and The Cooper Temple Clause. As if that has not kept them sufficiently busy, following a brace of EP's Medium 21 finally get to release their debut album 'Killings From The Dial', which they recorded at the beginning of 2002.

Medium 21 have managed to distill the best rock music of the past twenty years into one spectacular album. The American garage rock of The Pixies, Soul Asylum, and early Flaming Lips is a major influence, in conjunction with more melodic elements from the UK Indie scene. The off-kilter acoustic rock of 'By My Side' would certainly not be out of place on a Blur record. 'The Best Part' is in a similar vein and includes a great line to sum up the draining effect of a relationship gone wrong: 'You're bothering me, you're smothering me / It's like you're smoking the best part'.
The spectrum of influences on the album is impressively broad including the dark gothic of The Willard Grant Conspiracy on 'The Wrong Road' and Nick Cave on downbeat closer 'We Were The Ones'. Ambitiously Medium 21 attempt and somehow manage to successfully fuse sublime frazzled surf guitar with a Morricone western movie score style on 'The Cable and The Cars'.
Favourite tracks tend to change with each listen on an album of such self assurance and astonishing vision, but the unhinged punk of 'Daybreak vs Pride' delivered with a wonderful Frank Black drawl, takes some beating. Medium 21's appearance would seem to be timed perfectly to leap upon the garage rock revival but an album of such diversity deserves and should expect a much wider audience.

Gavin Eves

Click Here for all you need to know about: Medium 21