Goth punk with some old-school heavy metal guitar and post-hardcore leniencies
Meet Missratched. Despite not being known to many, the staunchly-DIY Lyon four-piece have actually been going since 2012 under various lineups, with demo and EP releases to their name. The latest EP, ‘Miettes’, landed early last month. Its title translates from French as “crumbs”. And, with a low social media presence, it sometimes certainly feels like an elusive trail of breadcrumbs trying to find out more about the band and their material. Though, once you finally manage to, you realise it was well worth the effort. Missratched are Fi (guitar), Dav (drums), Manu (bass) and Fleur (vocals). Singing in their native language, they lean towards the raw, old-school sound of punk, mixed with melodic guitar intervals and deeply emotive vocals to forge their own style.
Four out of five tracks seem to be reworked, punked up and marginally more polished versions of other, similarly titled tracks from 2020’s ‘Bon An Mal An’. And, as Bob Dylan would have you know back in ‘65, giving these songs the electric treatment does them the world of good.
First up is ‘Pagaille’ (‘Mess’), forged by bass runs, a catchy lead line and powerful, pitch-ranging vocals from Fleur – with contrastingly gritty backing accompaniment. Somehow, despite the unpolished vintage punk vibe, it still manages impressive melodies – largely thanks to Fleur’s singing and Fi’s plucking lead. Also included are definite homages to gothic rock, a la Siouxsie and the Banshees.
‘Magdalena’ immediately exudes more Banshees, with those piercing cries and Manu’s pushy bass-thwacking. The rhythm section locks in for sturdy, quickfire instrumentals, balancing post-hardcore scales with softer intervals. Fleur’s ever-evolving vocals move into the mid-pitch zone as she prepares to give us a lungful, taking us through trudging lilts before giving way to breakdowns of snarling roars.
The initial standout of the five is ‘Pimpon’, a goth-hardcore fusion. Lead guitar lands somewhere between the crunch of Social Distortion and the ambience of the Cure, even at its earliest stages – though late-90s skate punk later becomes the catch of the day. Missratched know just how to pull a black-cat-Halloween-ready track out of the bag!
The anarchic title rocker announces itself, received and understood by all – even those that don’t speak the language. Impassioned backing vocals mirror Fleur’s lead and, midway, there’s a slowed, swinging pace switch-up, that rebuilds with pounding drums before arriving back firmly in post-hardcore territory.
The EP ends with ‘2047’: a driving, up-tempo track, and there’s some vintage heavy-metal influence coming into play against the offbeat, galloping rhythm. On second listen, this track actually grabs your attention more than any of the others. The riffing is something to behold – with Metallica-esque scales and intricate, splintering solos stealing the show.
What you can expect to enjoy most about Missratched is their energetic classic punk tendencies, not to mention the unmistakably organic, warts-and-all feeling of being crammed in a sweaty basement club (the best kind), that they’ve convincingly achieved on this record.
‘Miettes’ is out now. Buy and stream it here.
- Pagaille
- Magdalena
- Pimpon
- Miettes
- 2047
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