What a Difference Two Years Makes,
BackwashI'm probably going to get abuse for this but what the Hell, it's my opinion and people can live with it - but is it me or has Lockjaw suddenly signed a stack of pretty average bands? It's not to say the likes of Have A Go Hero, The Fallout Theory and Backwash are particularly bad, but they don't exactly stand out either. It's kind of the way I feel the UK 'scene' is going right now, because so many labels are springing up and releasing pretty average records. Maybe people feel that about PT Recs, and they'd have every right to do so, but to sign a stack of bands consecutively that don't stick out strikes me as being odd. True, Secondtolast are pretty handy, but their new labelmates Backwash come across, to me, as a band with an identity crisis.
Over the course of seven songs they reference bands like Over It, The Early November, Jimmy Eat World and even chuck in some ska-ish guitar upstrokes for good measure. Of course the band never reach the highlights of any of their US peers, although they do give it a good stab, with steady production from Jim Turner. But it just doesn't float my boat. The press release accompanying this record claims this release is "genuine and heartfelt", but I'd completely disagree - it's soulless and hollow, and that's the problem. Backwash are a talented band that can play their instruments well and they've composed solid songs with basic structures, but it doesn't stir or rouse me at all.
The vocals warble competently, but there's no feeling or power. The guitars, as mentioned previously, visit every kind of genre on numerous occasions and while there's no harm in trying to be different, the problem is that if you try and be different and fail to pull it off then you fall flat on your arse. My problem with 'What a Difference Two Years Makes' is that it's boring - each song passes without any kind of a thud. I've just read this review back and it reads exceptionally harsh, but when you put yourself up as a band on a biggish UK indie label, you have to be ready to be shot down if you're not up to scratch. For me, Backwash just don't hit the spot at all. Maybe I've missed the point (which happens frequently), but if this is "genuine and heartfelt" then maybe the UK scene is in more of a mess than I thought.
www.backwash.tk
Lockjaw Records
Paul
