Maggie’s Bookshop is a Dutch rapcore/nu-metal band in the vein of Rage Against The Machine and old P.O.D. This is there first EP released digital October 2009.
Maggie’s Bookshop is a local band for me. After the release of this EP they did allot of gigs around and my interest grew along. But it wasn’t until their gig at the Xnoizz Flevo Festival that I listened to their music in preparation to their performance. So after their awesome performance, I bought their album immediately.
So the EP contains 4 songs and with the physical release also come 3 live recordings. The EP starts with ‘Sapphire In The Shadow’. The song starts with haunting guitar with some spoken lyrics. Then the song builds with some pounding drums and the vocals getting more insistent. After a head banging verse comes the chorus. Singing ‘Why don´t you come into the light?’ The first thing I want to notice is that the rap and clean vocals are really good. They absolutely fit into the music.
The next song I’ll take the blame is really a story telling song. This song is a little bit slower. A nice touch is the rhythm guitar at the end of the song. It gives the song a little bit more of a modern feel to the music.
The next song is part one of ‘Where Paradise Lies’. It starts with a calming acoustic guitar. Than the spoken word take over later accompanied by a piano. It builds up to part two of ‘Where Paradise Lies’.
Part two is another awesome rapcore song. Lyrically this song has the same theme as part one. This song has allot of energy!
These four songs really well done and really make you want to bang along. Like I stated before the physical release also contains 3 live recordings. These songs are recorded in the Metropool in Hengelo. One song recorded is ‘I’ll take the blame’ and two new songs. The quality of these live recording are excellent.
The lyrics are stories literally from Maggie’s Bookshop and are mostly about struggles in life. The lyrics are really a really good and thought out.
Overall this debut EP shows allot of potential. Hopefully this genre will make a little comeback in popularity. Bands like Maggie’s Bookshop deserve it to be heard.
Download EP for FREE HERE
Rating: 8/10
Record Label: Maggie’s Bookshop, 2011
Tracklist:
01. Sapphire In The Shadow
02. I’ll Take The Blame
03. Where Paradise Lies (Part 1)
04. Where Paradise Lies (Part 2)
(Physical release)
05. That Cursed Diary Of Mine (Live)
06. I’ll Take The Blame (Live)
07. The Fear and the Beast Inside (Live)
Bandmembers:
Renger Boersma – Vocals
Remco Oude Vrielink – Guitar
Jip van Bodegom – Guitar
Roy Post – Drums
Joris Hoevenberg – Bass
Weblinks: website / Myspace / Twitter / Facebook / Bandcamp
I expected a bit more energy, the songs are generally, slower with some peaks. But the base is there.