Let’s get one thing clear – Winning By Default aren’t a bad band by any stretch of the imagination. Infact they’re tight, talented and have a vocalist who can clearly hold a note. But they’re so incredibly generic it’s really hard to say anything too glowing about them. Based down in Peterborough I am sure the band have a flourishing local following, but there’s nothing here that I’ve not heard a million times before. The guitars soar in all the right places, the drums go along at a similar pattern and the choruses, while catchy, aren’t that memorable.
‘Redcard’ suggests the band are on the right lines, but we get a lot of demos from bands who sound like WBD. And that’s not meant to be derogatory, it’s a simple fact. There’s just very little that separates these boys from a lot of other bands all vying for a slot in the pop-punk premiership. And I don’t think, on the basis of this EP anyway, that there’s enough passion and honesty here to make people sit up and take notice. As I said, it’s all perfectly competent stuff and nothing’s wrong with it, but I can’t find too much right with it either. It’s all a bit nice and ‘nice’ is possibly the most inoffensive and bland word in the dictionary. Check them out as they’re worth a listen, but I think if they intend to hang around or make a bigger splash something extra needs to come from somewhere.
www.myspace.com/winningbydefaultrock
paul