THE REVELLIONS SIGH’S
Whenever a band starts a song with a slightly forced and incredibly unnecessary bass guitar solo (and, believe me, it happens more often that you might think), I rarely look forward to what follows. But, in the case of Dubling quintet The Revellions and their new single Sigh’s, I admit I was a tad hasty.
THE MOONS - LIFE ON EARTH
A disappointing debut from The Moons, fronted by Paul Weller's keyboard player Andy Crofts. Coming from a band that has so much to offer, in the way of style and originality, Crofts has difficulty injecting these traits into his new project. Opening track, 'Don't go changin'' , hosts un-impressive and honestly annoying, 'choppy' keyboards. Followed by unnecessary guitar solos and... erm... noises...
The running theme exposed through-out the album is love- lost, and won. Having this as the theme on so many tracks, makes the album lack substance. You could expect this from any teen band, but I definitely would hope for more variation from such an established musician.
Half way through we reach track 'How long', and we have a glimmer of hope. A fantastically put together acoustic intro, moving into mellow melodies and a 'clap-a-long' beat. It works so well because you feel like the band are trying less! The melody suits Crofts voice far more than the overly testing, cheesy and pushy vocals from the preceding tracks.
It is impressive to note that Crofts wrote track, 'Wondering', when he was only a mere sixteen. Although not particularly exciting, it is well put together. Boasting lyrics that leave you 'wondering', about a thing or two. It lets itself down with a 'time filling' drone of voices, that if you try really hard, you can imagine weren't there when the song was originally written.
The album's finale, 'Last night on earth', is a culmination of everything that has come before it. It has a little bit of each element from the previous tracks. Trying to trick you into appreciating the fact that, for the most part, they have tried too hard, and in doing so ended up with a fairly stale and needy album.