Void Pleasantries is an alternative rock / grunge rock band from Scotland, comprising of members John and Ross McKellar, Thomas Shaw, George Paterson, and Connor Kyle and When In Rome is their latest album and was released on13/07/2023.

The band class the album as “the sound of us growing up,” and is a new record made up of old songs and features the best of their first two EPs plus some previously unreleased songs.

The album kicks off with the track Tedious Lie and this is a great starter for what goes on to be a fantastic album. The track is upbeat, loud, and thunderous, a token of what the rest of the album is about.

It is hard to define which genre this belongs to, so I am not going to try but there are obvious influences from alternative rock and the distortion used on the guitars and the vocals at certain points throughout the album really give a direct nod to the grunge genre.

The guitars are melodious yet heavy with riffs and hooks galore that really do pull you into the music. As previously mentioned, distortion gives them a fuzzy feel, and this makes for a really great sound. The drumming energetic and the meaty basslines shining through really do hold it all together.

The vocals are very reminiscent of the 90’s alternative rock / grunge sound and with backups in much the same vein, there is great depth to the tracks. The singer’s voice is strong and powerful yet there is a gentle grittiness to it too that really makes him stand out with a charisma that really takes us back in time.

The album, as a whole, is a nostalgic trip back to 90’s alternative rock and grunge and is an album that shows the genres are still alive and kicking, as Void Pleasantries have added a modern twist that keeps their music fresh and up to date.

The album is very upbeat and should certainly get listeners jumping around the living room when they hear it as faster tracks far outweigh the slower ones.

For all intents and purposes, this is the band’s debut LP, and one that should set them on the road to much bigger things. Fantastic album and I certainly look forward to much more from Void Pleasantries in the very near future.

Track Listing:
1) Tedious Lie
2) No Good Reason
3) I Will Name It
4) Be The Hunted
5) What Did You Say?
6) Retract
7) Emerald
8) Lose My Mind
9) The Meddler (live)
10) What You Want

This review is the property of The Metal Asylum