This Is Geneva

This is Geneva

I think the thing that impresses me most about this band is that you never quite know what's coming next. This is a band where the next riff could be double or half the tempo of the current one, where they could drop everything except one instrument, or even drop everything for a couple of beats. A Sample of Our Services even has a glockenspiel join in for part of the song. Yet these changes never sound too abrupt, or out of place. Impressive stuff.

Their sound is mostly a fairly poppy indie-rock kind of sound, with the use of syncopation and octaves on the bass giving it a strong disco vibe, though the sophisticated arrangements are anything but pop.

If they can keep up the quality of A Sample of Our Services and When Good Friends, these guys will definitely be worth checking out.

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Local Perth act This Is Geneva have emerged with a trio of idiosyncratic pieces of Indie Rock. This five piece band write heartfelt indie anthems with, thankfully, not a hint of pretension to them.

A Sample of Our Services starts out with a simple bass riff, that is soon augmented by choppy, angular guitar riffs. So far, so gang of four. Soon it's augmented with piano, synth and a beautiful call and response refrain between the singer and a mobchant crowd. An impressive and powerful anthem.

Science Vs. Stigma augments the choppy angular guitar riffs with a prominent gangsta whine synth but lacks little else memorable to it. Ultimately this is the poorest of the three, suffering the most for a lack of distinctiveness.

Finally, When Good Friends Do Bad Things continues the pattern of the duelling Gang of Four guitar lines with anthemic choruses. This track boasts a delicious hook that sounds like Primal Scream's most rocky riffs run through post-punk filters and a pleasantly surprising trance breakdown in the middle.

Ultimately this band succeeds most when they're matching their post-punk riffs and melodies with a sense of experimentalism. If the moves they make in A Sample… and When Good Friends… continue, you'll be hearing of them within the next few years as the new hot thing.

A Sample Of Our Services: 9/10
Science Vs. Stigma: 5/10
When good friends do bad things: 7/10