DMA’s - Hills End

DMA’s may not have been doing themselves many favours lately by wearing their Gallagher-loving hearts so obviously on their sleeves. It seems, for many, that links between the Aussie buzz band and the Manchester icons are a little too tenuous, and in fact, debut album ‘Hills End’ feels equally influenced by the endearingly scrappy arrogance of 2006’s ‘don’t-believe-the-hype’ Sheffield Monkeys, as by the bands of the ‘90s Britpop heyday.

That isn’t to say that the Oasis twang can’t be felt at all on this record; award-winning producer Mike ‘Spike’ Spent, who’s previously worked with the Gallaghers mixed ‘Hills End’ and, in the more tender moments of the album, they linger too. This is true not least in single ‘Delete’, which picks up the echoing-vocals-and-heartfelt-poignancy baton that some of the Oasis tracks laid down.

DMA’s do show range on ‘Hills End’ though. There’s the assertively driven opener ‘Timeless’ right through to the swooning romance of ‘Step Up The Morphine’ – which channels The La’s upbeat and infectious psychedelic hooks. ‘Lay Down’ shows off the Aussies’ indie pop credentials, while the delicate acoustic and stark vocals that begin ‘So We Know’ wouldn’t feel out of place alongside Alex Turner on the ‘Submarine’ soundtrack. But ultimately, it’s in the guitar-heavy anthems that the Sydney boys really find their feet. ‘Too Soon’ packs the biggest punch of the lot with a huge chorus and reverberating guitars.