Holy shit, when did the lead singer of Park moved to Scotland and form an emo-tinged rock band? The vocalist from Perth’s Dirtbox sounds so much like Ladd that you’d be forgiven for thinking they were flat out lying about their Scottish heritage. Unfortunately, as this was the first thing that struck me about this band, you can sort of tell how transparent the music is right?
Well, maybe you’re wrong. Or maybe I’m wrong. Whatever. The point is I was wholly expecting to hate this CD with it’s Park meets New Found Glory style and the cheeky press release creating a feeling inside me somewhat akin to utter incomprehensible dread. The thing is, I didn’t hate it. I really should have, but I didn’t. I didn’t enjoy it either, but that’s not the point. Maybe I’m going soft.
Anyway, let’s start with the positives. ‘Game Over’, the third track, is a cracking blend of breakneck drumming and little guitar flourishes, but is ultimately ruined with the slackjawed Americanised whining that passes for vocals. In fact, the singer can actually pull this style off quite admirably, but then Hitler was good at gassing Jews. My point being that you can be good at something truly awful and it will still remain in the ‘awful’ category. I prefer my vocals to come accompanied with bollocks thankyou. Still, like I said, the actually music is pretty damn impressive and would sound fantastic if it was blessed with a similar vocal delivery as to, say, A Wilhelm Scream or Rise Against. But it’s not. So it doesn’t.
‘All Or Nothing’, despite the throwaway title, is also a pretty good song, much in the vein of Hey Mercedes meets No Motiv in Scotland kind of way. The vocals also suit this style a lot more, especially with what sounds like some sort of distortion on the verses. Second song, ‘Back on Track’ is easily the most disappointing on here however, and generally lets the band down.
Still, to say after one listen I was expecting to write a scathing, slavering review, everything’s come out rosy hasn’t it? In my humble opinion, this band should do one of two things : Get a new vocalist and stick to the style showcased on ‘Game Over’, or probably more feasibly, write more pop rock nuggets like ‘All or Nothing’. It’s all very promising, but ultimately underwhelming. Here’s to progress, as this band clearly have the talent somewhere inside them to develop and mature into something very good indeed.
Ross