As many people know, I am an Essex boy, through and through. Not the sterotype that live on the London border but in deepest, darkest anglia, on the borders of Suffolk. As such, I have an affinity for Essex bands such as Blur, The Prodigy & InMe to name just 3 and that could soon be set to expand with the introduction of Southends own Red Nettle.

From the opening strains of 'Oedipus Complex' you know these are a cut ahead of most unsigned artists and their talent is emphasised by the fact they have supported the likes of Groop Dogdrill & Raging Speedhorn.

Coming on like old school Therapy? with a touch of extra passion and adrenaline and a chorus of indie rock sensibilities (think My Vitriol or Swampdonkey) and, just to mix things up, an injection of the reinvented Anathema when they did songs like 'Fragile Dreams'... makes for an interesting concoction!

'Inflicific' has a different complection altogether, right from the downtuned guitar intro to the heavy rock solo and melodic chorus to the ascending rock out ending.

The Burning is almost 7 minutes long and can easily be mistaken for Silverchair and, more to the point, their debut 'Frogstomp' album. The song comes over as a slightly heavier version of the aforementioned Aussies track 'Shade' but dragged out for longer. Don't get me wrong, it is a quality track in it's own right, but the essence of Deja Vu just keeps gnawing away.

On the whole, this is a very good EP and they are a band I will venture out to see live just on the strength of this demo to see if they can reproduce (or intensify) any of the tracks live... and to support the Essex music scene.

To obtain a copy, e-mail russrednettle@hotmail.com