Cast your mind back to the year 2004 – MySpace was in its second year, Spiderman 2 (the Tobey Maguire version) was in cinemas, meanwhile, my stereo was incessantly pumping out ‘Infinity Land’ by Biffy Clyro and ‘Racecar Is Racecar Backwards’ by Reuben. It’s abundantly clear that A-Tota-So have one foot firmly placed in that seminal era of British alternative music whilst the other foot is waving madly around like some sort of possessed conductor’s baton.
There’s something gloriously satisfying about a band naming an album I Told You So. It’s the musical equivalent of standing at the bar, smugly sipping your pint while everyone around you gradually comes to the realisation that you were, in fact, right all along. Fortunately for A-Tota-So, this record gives them every excuse to be this insufferably confident.
The UK trio have been making noisy, awkwardly brilliant racket since 2018, building their reputation around a rather chaotic mixture of math rock, grunge and post-hardcore. I Told You So takes this formula and runs with it, combining punk urgency with angular, bruising guitar hooks that stubbornly refuse to leave your head. There’s so much energy here, but importantly, it’s balanced with quieter, more introspective moments that lends a certain amount of unpredictability to their sound. It’s this unpredictable nature that allows A-Tota-So’s songs to hit you with the force of a high-speed train when they want them to. Every song on the record is tightly constructed, punchy and packed with those little melodic flourishes that elevate them above so many of their peers.
Opener ‘Death Rattle’ immediately establishes the album’s confidence, combining frantic, staccato riffing with a stellar vocal performance from guitarist Marty Toner who has taken up the mantle of lead vocals on this record…it turns out the bugger can sing! Form Of Mass follows, showcasing the band’s trademark angularity and ability to build moments of burning intensity within their songs. While Masks delivers one of the album’s most wonderfully bipolar moments, beginning with beautiful, dreamy guitar melodies at the start and ending with a vocal performance that sounds like someone desperately trying to prove their sanity while simultaneously licking the blade of an axe.
However, it’s the 6 minute No Tears No Sound that is arguably the album’s standout track. Muscular riffs counterbalance the melodic vocal performance and there’s a clever use of repetition that bring an almost meditative feel to certain moments. You can hear moments of Therapy? on this record, alongside inspiration from bands like And So I Watch You From Afar and Biffy Clyro, but A-Tota-So are a band that never sound like they’re simply rummaging through someone else’s record collection, they manage to carefully thread their own distinct sound through the needle of their influences to create something that is both familiar and completely unique.
With I Told You So, A-Tota-So have produced a brilliant record that is catchy without being saccharine, aggressive without becoming exhausting, and polished without sanding off all its unpredictable personality.
So, yes, A-Tota-So…you told us so…and you were absolutely right.
Best Paired with – A bloody Stratocaster, a book of Sudoku puzzles and a White Russian.
Reviewed by Bryn.
a-Tota-So – I told you so is out now on ButtonPusher.
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