The eponymous first release from Scottish three-piece FLIP BANSHEE comes in the form of an EP of four songs of pop-rock. The tracks flow well enough and it’s certainly easy to listen to, with a nice contrast of gentle to heavy riffs. The trouble is, their cited influence Biffy Clyro is a little too channelled. The Scottish comparison might be obvious to draw and perhaps that’s where it starts, but it’s more than that. Jangly guitars and softly spoken lyrics are abundant, but with a definite feel of a band just starting out – there’s a sense of rock-by-numbers within these songs and the sometimes contrived lyrics. At times, it gets just a little too teenage garage band: “I know that I’m difficult/ so figure me out”.
There are some catchy melodies here and the group certainly have promise, but this EP leaves a lot to be desired. There’s the hope that the band will find their own sound that doesn’t rely so heavily on their influences, but for now we’re given fifteen minutes of a watered down Biffy. Not bad, but not amazing.
JOSIE MARTIN