London Road

Lyricists: Tony Friend; Josh Friend.
Personnel: Kyle Deek (guitar); James Leach (bass guitar); Pat Lundy (drums).
Audio Mixers: Culprate; Tony Friend; Josh Friend.
A surprising departure from previous releases, London Road finds crossover dubstep act Modestep amping up the crossover to a rock level, as in grinding guitars and urgent vocals. Coming off as the bastard child of Pendulum and Atari Teenage Riot suits the group, especially as the thrilling "Seams" builds listeners up like any EDM number is wont to do, but then the highlight drops its bass in an organic manner, one where you can hear new recruit Pat Lundy putting the pick to his four-stringed axe. Some of the songs recall the cathartic blast and stately drama of Muse, but this is a much more stripped-down and savage version of that band's stadium electro. FuntCase, the Partysquad, Trolley Snatcha, and others join the band on this gritty, gutsy, and heavily compressed triumph. ~ David Jeffries