It’s here – the Fueled By Ramen wannabe invasion has begun. Sounding like a cross between The Academy Is and, well vocally a band like Taking Back Sunday, Atwood have a highly polished American sound, nicely honed on the backstreets of Shrewsbury. To be fair the boys have only been together since October, but in naming themselves after an OC character, they’re hardly trying to break the lazy comparisons people like me are going to lump on them.
The four songs here aren’t too bad – but they just don’t stick out enough. ‘I Love Your Hair (It Covers Your Face)’ is actually pretty good, but the chrous isn’t quite catchy enough to warrant repeat listens. The case of ‘nearly but not quite’ carries on throughout this EP – there are songs that have many positive elements, yet there’s always something that’s too borrowed or cliched. The dual vocals, for instance, are very TBS, while the keys are probably a little unnecessary – just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean every UK band should. Atwood are ok, but there’s work to be done if they want to progress from an Atwood to, say, a Cohen.
www.myspace.com/atwoodrock
paul