Fletcher are being touted as Britain’s greatest pop-punk hopes and it really isn’t hard to see why. Signed to Deck Cheese, the band are quickly picking up lots of fans with their brand of perky punk rock tunes, as hook filled and catchy as you’ll come across from any British band out there at the moment. Imagine Alkaline Trio after a six-month course of Prozac and you won’t be too far off. Their performance at Deconstruction certainly made the mainstream music press stand-up and take notice, and deservedly so. Now with their first EP for Deck Cheese available in stores, how do they compete on record as opposed to their first-class live efforts? Well, very, very well. The mini-hype that seems to have been bestowed on the Kingston crew is certainly justified on the basis of ‘Six Track Sound’, an EP that doesn’t break any new ground at all, but what Fletcher do they do as well as anybody – regardless of nationality. Infact there’s only one weak track here, ‘Signal 109’, slightly detracting from the sheer quality of the other five.
Opener ‘Wasted’ shows that All and Alkaline Trio are certainly influences on the band, with the track lying almost squarely in between the two US bands. The “I wasted all my time on you” refrain will be stuck in your head and have you singing along before you know it. Fletcher also seem to have mastered the art of not outstaying their welcome with ‘Wasted’ a two-and-a-half-minute pop-punk gem. ‘Signal 109’ is unfortunately the filler track here – a song which isn’t that bad but doesn’t really set them apart from any of the other wannabe punk bands doing the pub and club circuit at the minute. It’s just a bit generic on record and not the best example of Fletcher at work.
Unlike ‘Shell Of Myself’ which is possibly my favourite track on the EP although being ultra-critical it does seem to end a little quickly. Minor gripe aside, this is a song which belies the band’s relative inexperience. ‘Broken Hands‘ maintains the high quality of the record, with the twin vocals of Lee and Chris bouncing off of each other and creating some damn fine harmonies. These harmonies and melodies are used to full effect on ‘Wishlist’, a track that stands out as being a song that everyone deserves to hear. Then there’s the live favourite ‘Idiot Me’ which I’m sure everyone will be able to associate with lyrically. “Just another song about a girl that broke my heart, and took me for the idiot you know as me,” they sing, with the tempo of the track a little slower.
Produced by Iain Wetherall, he seems to be for UK bands what Ryan Greene is for Fat Wreck bands, and once again his touch has turned to gold with production that is slick and brings the songs out fully, without ever sounding too polished. I guess you could say that Fletcher are just another pop-punk band, and I guess in some ways they are. But it’s great to see a UK band shaking up the scene with quality songs that many bigger name bands would be proud of. Hopefully this foursome’s minor success will spur on a new generation of British youngsters to get them noticed in a bid to fight the Yanks at their own game.
In short Fletcher are definitely wothy of their tag of being the UK’s next big thing. Certainly a band to keep tabs on because if their pop-punk stylings continue to make as many waves as they are now, who knows where they could end up. Opening the Deconstruction Tour again next year is unlikely – chances are they may well be halfway up the bill…
Paul