Stand Up and Be Proud,
Pictures of Shanghai
Wow. It's amazing what a decent studio, refreshing ideas and some confidence can do for a band. Pictures of Shanghai have turned themselves from a very average, run-of-the-mill The Maple State clone into a genuine contender in the space of two EPs. Gone is the samey, generic Motion City Soundtrack bleeps and synths, replacing them with a very confident Kenny Vasoli-esque vocal and a backing track of carefully knit, catchy songs. And the band have never sounded better.
While the stomping 'Kick Start Heart' has a familiar sound to it, the band really have never sounded better. There's a confidence, particularly in the vocals, which they've never showcased before and it improves them no end. When 'Is This Public or Private?' gets going it also sounds great - and when the vocals really start to go at it in the choruses, there's a raw emotion which separates the men from the boys in this genre of music. It also sounds a little like The Starting Line, whether intentional or not, which isn't a bad thing either.
I usually get bored of listening to band's demos after a couple of listens, but after about a dozen or so plays straight this sounds better than ever. Lester Woodward has clearly been a very good influence on the band and the computerised strings which kick off 'Oh Tragedy' show how far this band have come since the early days. A very nice surprise - excellent stuff for fans of catchy, indie-rock with huge melodies.
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