It’s difficult to get into a band’s sound on the basis of a three track demo but from what I’ve listened to here it seems like Skatch have got the right ideas going here, and they’re obviously massive fans of bands like Allister, but their structure needs work. At several points during the three songs I was struck by a feeling of “well, that’s alright, but it doesn’t really fit with the last section” – it seemed a little disjointed.
That’s not to say there isn’t promise here, but a good deal of refinement is needed. When you’re squarely in the middle of the pop-punk bracket your vocals have either got to be a little different to most, or they’ve got to be generic but impeccably executed. Track two Channel 26 tries its best but misses the mark slightly in this respect despite laying down some decent attempts at guitar hooks.
Overall this is a fair effort, but nowhere near distinct enough to stand out from the crowd. Any future efforts need to concentrate on building up the vocals, losing the accents and removing the abundant cheese from track 3 Ex-girlfriend. Stiltontastic.
www.myspace.com/skatch
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