The Vanity Score are from Oxfordshire and Hampshire and formed in June 2005. Influenced by Fall Out Boy and The Starting Line they play a very melodic pop-punk which, to be honest, UK bands don’t often manage to pull off. sadly for TVS, they fall into the same trap as many of their English peers and drift off into ‘average’ territory. As bands such as Valencia, Cartel and Hit The Lights have proved in the last few months, the more successful melodic bands base their sound around the singer – and if you can’t hit the right notes, with this type of music you are literally stuffed. Sadly for The Vanity Score, this is their major problem.
For me, the vocals are nowhere near good enough. Basic notes are missed, and rather than make a distinguishing mark on the band’s sound, they’re often letting it down. The guitar riffs are tired and predictable, borrowing heavily from their influences, and there’s just very little here to get excited about. They’re better than some UK bands who attempt this kind of sound, but there’s not enough of their own stamp to make people sit up and notice. I’m sure their friends love them, but The Vanity Score need to do a hell of a lot more if they’re going to score more points from me…