Sirens & Shelter – Sound The Alarm CD (Engineer Records)

Scott Mallard is a prolific singer/songwriter emanating from North Kent, UK. He performs with his outlet Sirens & Shelter since 2012, and until now, managed to record dozen of compelling recordings, mainly published through Engineer Records. Recordings such as a debut full-length The Midnight Arrangement, a single Landing Lights, then another full-length Through The War and Live EP paved the way to the broader audience in a matter of two years. Scott then decided to record a split release with Ryan Mills named Nine Days, a full length Maybe You Should and another single entitled Carried Your Weight. Judging by his activities, I can only assume Scott kept himself busy since he started operating as Sirens & Shelter.

Sound The Alarm is the newest offering to the broader auditorium comprised of three ear-appealing compositions. The extended play commences with Carried Your Weight, a single previously published over his Bandcamp page. Right with the first beats of this number, you may notice a marvelous production. With this one, Scott goes towards the contemporary pop-punk sound, empowered by exceptional dynamics and brilliant arrangements. Melancholic chord progressions are following perfectly executed chants, also decorated by thoughtfully composed themes. This particular composition shines bright with extraordinary songwriting skills, and it’s more than evident that Scott spent quite an amount of time working on his music.

Sound The Alarm continues at the same pace, and Sirens & Shelter keep things in moderate tempo, but entertaining enough. This particular number includes a more technical approach to pop-punk through various polyphonous guitar dualities. However, it balances between technically demanding shreddings and easy-listening melodies. Therefore, it levitates somewhere in between a classic pop-punk approach, but still retains remarkable musicianship that outstands some much bigger names within the scene. Sirens & Shelter is finishing off this material with Once A Week, much calmer number than those previous two. This composition provides profoundly emotive moments through melancholic guitar segments and much serene rhythmical structures. Scott delivers another portion of graciously performed chants, appropriately blended with marvelously arranged music. Once A Week serves as a perfect closure but also leaves you with the urge to spin this EP once again.

Sound The Alarm comes housed in a high-quality cardboard sleeve. The cover artwork unveils an old military radio station with some furniture around. It’s a simplistic, but yet an effective graphic solution that carries the theme of this recording. Sound The Alarm is available at Engineer Records, so head over to their web store and purchase one for yourself or your loved ones.