Sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind. No offence intended, but unless you point out fundamental problems as a reviewer, band's won't improve. Whether said band's opt to listen to advice from someone stupid like me is another entity altogether, but here's my twopenneth. Hailing from Kent, PoS play what is fast becoming THE genre - sod black t-shirted clad "hardcore" (sed loosely) bands, now it's the turn of those who tinker keys and splatter samples all over their sound. PoS do plenty of both, although their scattergun effect really doesn't do either of the two songs here any justice whatsoever.
For instance, the chorus to 'More Than A Kiss From You' is actually relatively catchy, but the lead up to it is a complete mess. Samples and synths are thrown in randomly, the drums sound awful and the vocals just don't flow as they should, although the singing itself isn't too bad. The problem this band have is the complete identity crisis their songs convey. Without doubt they like bands such as Motion City Soundtrack or The Riverclub, but in attempting to adopt a sound such as that they've made a complete hash of it. Often simple is the best way to go, rather than overcomplicating with layers of sounds which come across as muddy. Pictures of Shanghai clearly have talent, but this demo just doesn't convey it at all well. My recommendation would be to go back to the drawing board and start again...
www.myspace.com/picturesofshanghai
Paul
