Album Reviews

Guards is a relatively new band built around frontman Richie Follin (brother of Cults' Madeline) and while they are based out of New York, they sound decidedly Californian. With sun-soaked guitars, hyperactive bass lines, an overall hazy sound and anthemic choruses, they don’t have a lot going on for you not to like them from the get-go.

Opener “Nightmare” immediately sets the tone with breezy grandness and is quickly followed by “Ready To Go” and “Silver Lining”, two more songs that bring with them images of summer even though it’s only February. I’m not sure if it makes any sense but if Andrew WK tried his hand at writing shoegazer tunes, I’m pretty sure it would end up sounding like Guards.

As you work your way down the tracklisting, I did find a certain degree of ennui settling in because besides hook-filled and arena-ready, Guards’ songs are also formulaic as fuck. It didn’t really bother me too much though because “In Guards We Trust” remains a fun listen. It’s just a shame because a little more diversity would’ve made an album that is now solid, great.