Bournemouth four-piece Pump Action Radio play a poppy pop-punk that, for me, just doesn’t hit the spot. It’s not catchy or melodic enough to be memorable and the riffs aren’t meaty enough to stand out either. It’s not particularly bad, it’s just very, very average. PAR are the kind of band you see opening up for the more established bands as they tour through your local town. There are plenty of borrowed moments – ‘Got You Where I Want You’ steals breakdowns from other bands, while the vocals sound a bit weak and the chorus just doesn’t stick. I don’t want to sound particularly mean or unnecessarily harsh, but PAR need to go back to their practice space and get a bit tighter and write catchier choruses if they’re to do anymore than play in front of their friends for the foreseeable future.
