Ocean County, New Jersey four piece, Meteor Police, mean business and have gone above and beyond to ensure their debut album New Type Destroyer gets the attention it deserves. This ten track album showcases their talent not just as musicians but the whole package, from recording quality to the artwork and marketing of the finished product. New Type Destroyer arrived at SPB HQ in it's physical 12" vinyl format which is stunning in blood red featuring bright eye catching artwork throughout the inlay booklet and a simple but thought provoking cover.
It's hard to pin point an exact genre to attach to Meteor Police which I'm sure they will be pleased about but I guess post-punk is as good as any. However, I do get elements of other styles sneaking in too. To my delight I do get a kind of dark, sinister horror undertone to more than a couple of their tracks. Post-punk is the most prominent when it comes to their song structure, style and length and they certainly can't be criticized for being boring either. There is a lot going on throughout all the tracks on the album. With the exception of the intro track none of their other songs are under four minutes. A lot of their songs have a happy upbeat side to them even if the lyrics say otherwise, conveyed by use of clean guitar and multiple vocals which is a great angle and very effective. Lead Vocalist Shawn Clancy has a unique style, often off key but only slightly and an interesting method of speaking, shouting and singing. Not a million miles off from Andrew Falkous (Mclusky) which is never a bad thing and not an easy vocal line to pull off but he does it with finesse.
New type Destroyer sets the scene by way of a short intro piece called "In The Beginning: There Was Disaster!" as songs about humanities fragility, misgivings and frailty all make an appearance but it is done with a great sense of humour as well as many layers! The backline is incredibly prominent throughout which is something I will always appreciate as they can so easily just get lost or become background noise but not with Meteor Police. Here the backline is king with punchy and crazy guitar riffs alongside that marry very well with the bass and drums making you pay attention to both without either getting over shadowed. I find this a very clever method and it defines the band as a team all working together. The tracks flow together very well with every track starting out differently and going in various directions without getting confused. Stand out tracks for me are "Incel King", "I Don't Care About The Weather" and "Vampire Squid".
Reading the inlay booklet that accompanies the record provides a humorous insight into the process of recording New type Destroyer which certainly sounds like it was a labour of love yet we were treated with this fantastic end result. I find it funny that they renamed pretty much every track in the process and the quotes from band members on the lyric pages are brilliant! Meteor Police certainly seem like a fun bunch of guys. It's obvious that they are very talented musicians, work really well together and long may it continue. New Type Destroyer is available on 12" red vinyl and digitally via Bandcamp. Since it's release in July this year Meteor Police also released a four track EP in October called Hallowtide Hymns EP just in time for Halloween. This just pushes forward the sinister and spooky side of the band that New Type Destroyer alluded to. It has a great atmosphere and darkness to it that really captures the season plus a great cover of Siouxsie and The Banshees "Halloween"!
New Type Destroyer and Hallowtide Hymns are must listen to records, not just for the post-punks fans, due to their little extra quirks these records will appeal to a wide range of music fans.
