It’s quite a strange situation for any band to be big in Japan yet be total unknowns in their home country, but this is the situation Nottingham’s Piano find themselves in. After seemingly being dormant for quite some time ‘The Valediction of Verse‘ is last summer’s Japanese-only 4-track EP – I’m not sure if it’s commercially available in this country or whether the band simply submitted it for review to try and raise their profile a bit. Either way, you can sample a couple of the tracks from the band’s myspace and it’s something I’d certainly recommend you do.
Piano are a very good band. They remind me of Glassjaw at their most melodic or mid-range Funeral For A Friend. It’s catchy and melodic but not overly so. ‘Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right’ is very catchy and you can see why the band have become popular in the Far East. ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ reminds me a little bit of a less poppy Lostprophets. It’s certainly not groundbreaking or original, but it’s performed to a very high standard.
It’s bizarre why Piano haven’t yet got a break in the UK. They’re better than a lot of their peers and, even if their sound is a little dated, the quality of this 4-tracker shines through. I’d be surprised if they’re not offered deals by UK labels in the very near future.