In stark contrast to the effortless side of indie music dominating the scene at the moment, Love, Faith and Fear offers a distinctly energetic first impression of a mildly eclectic range of driving impressions and influences.
The EP opens with ‘Have We Moved On’, a typically indie crossover piece lending itself to the guidance of Oasis, perhaps, and a faint reminder of Bloc Party’s ‘Banquet’. Minutes pass and styles change, but the initial burst of energy pushing its way through the record is infallible; it feels strained, worked… but never tired, never bored. Although ‘Drift Away’ crosses into the remit of JAWS, the strengths of Love, Faith and Fear lie in the unwavering enthusiasm of The Rubikons. A scour through the band’s iTunes page holds them up as “one of the best live bands around for years”… and it isn’t difficult to imagine why. It might not be coarse rock ’n’ roll, but it certainly has stamina, which, in a market of scruffy, open-mouthed teenagers places an interesting spin on a familiar sound.
And it does sound familiar – if not for the nods to an (at least) twenty-year spread of indie artists, then for the polished quality that moulds it into something fluent and comprehensible. It might not feel dangerous to listen to in a daring, boundary-testing kind of way, but the attention to craft that’s pieced together a clever and well-fitted series of solos, vocal arrangements and beats definitely marks The Rubikons out as something more than your average startup indie band.
Words by James Reynolds