Used Friendly - Plugged

Used Friendly

Plugged
self-released; 2016

​3.6 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Alexandr Podoliak (vocals), Egor Zhdanovich (guitar), Andrey Chikilev (bass) and Yulia Chikileva  (drums) are a band from Belarus called Used Friendly. I can’t say I’m familiar with a lot of music that is coming out of Belarus but I felt their EP entitled Plugged could have come from the states. 

​The band is a hard and heavy rock band and Podoliak has a bit of that tough guy metal voice. It’s hard to pinpoint but something about his voice felt like I had heard it before. He also has different methods of delivery. Sometimes Podoliak goes for a heavy metal scream fest while other times it veered more towards hard rock.

They open with “Tell Me You Fell For It” which is a pretty straightforward rocker. The band doesn't waste any time getting the energy moving which consists of distorted, jangly guitars, intense drums and a chugging bass line. Overall, an enjoyable opener but it felt fairly standard.

The band mixes it up on the next track “Going To Hell.” You are treated to some slap bass. The first minute of the song I thought they were going full on jam band. That's not what happens. The song is more or less a hard rock song with notable bass lines. “Dirt” comes out of the gate sounding like Rage against the Machine except with a woman moaning in a very sexual manner. I think Guns N' Roses already did that on “Rocket Queen.”

“Blues To Farewell” is in fact very bluesy. The song contains clean guitar and a walking bass line. I have to admit it was a bit unexpected. That being said the band eventually turns the song into hard rock. They close with “F.U.J.” a heavy song which contains the most versatile vocal performance.

Although Plugged touts different styles it still felt fairly cohesive to me. The five songs are compact and powerful. This is still a style I think people will have an ambivalent relationship with. Take a listen and see if it's your cup of tea.

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