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Huddersfield eight-piece Mr. Shiraz certainly have a lot of experience when it comes to the art of punk. Since their conception in 2000 they have toured with punkers Reel Big Fish, the awesome Skindred, Therapy?, Alkaline Trio, Hell is for Heroes** and the Voodoo Glow Skulls to name but a few! All this practise hasn’t gone to waste. Mr. Shiraz skank with the best of them putting their extensive line up to good use.
In "Sleeping with the Enemy", fast paced madness style chords rally behind scratchy and amiably gruff vocals whilst the horn section adds a quirky ska flavour to the proceedings. Drums are pounded, keeping the beat grooving with a solid and traditional punk rhythm. Once in a while the guitars get turned up, fuzzed up, fucked up and it all turns into something perfectly apt at making the crowd go ape, as I’m sure it does. Mr. Shiraz appear like an incensed Sublime, with a touch of the Mad Caddies' horns and strings and quite a large dose of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Although the Huddersfield boys have a strangely Americanised vocal accent (the same could be said of their style in general) "Sleeping with the Enemy" is a good punk record that deserves to put Mr. Shiraz firmly on the road to headlining the London Astoria in a couple of years time.
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6Ed***d Mellett's Score
