PEEPSHOW
I’m in two minds about this band in general; part of me thinks that this is a really good band doing some sort of modern version of hair metal (which should always be encouraged) but another part of me thinks that they’re actually quite annoying and the vocals are grating. That in itself is a bit of an arse for them as he seems to be carrying the band, in terms of image at least. They’re apparently being compared to My Chemical Romance and HIM, which I can’t hear at all expect for the fact that the vocals are a bit annoying at points. Plus they all have silly names (apologies to them if that’s actually what their mothers decided to name them).
Silliness aside, it’s a 10/10 for effort as almost every song seems to be written and recorded as if it’s a classic, which as with most things about this band is both a good and bad thing. It starts from the very first proper song, ‘Let Go’, and is pretty much unrelenting throughout. There are some people who will absolutely love this album for exactly this reason but it can be a bit much when it’s all in your face and glossy but they have at least attempted to address this balance with a few lower-key ballads, so minor kudos there.
For a band without a keyboard player, there’s a lot of keyboards and synth going on here and I’m not sure what to make of it. At times it definitely adds something to the sound (e.g., ‘All or Nothing’) but sometimes it just serves as an unnecessary distraction (e.g., ‘Irreversible’). I’m sure they had fun playing with their new toy though but will maybe use it more strategically next time. The actual music on the album is actually pretty good if we ignore this. There’s a spattering of solid guitar solos, the drums are well structured and the bass lines are fairly well formed, if not a bit overshadowed by the rest of the music in terms of levelling. Basically, after listening to this album umpteen times, I still have no idea what I think about it. All I know is that I either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it.
Silliness aside, it’s a 10/10 for effort as almost every song seems to be written and recorded as if it’s a classic, which as with most things about this band is both a good and bad thing. It starts from the very first proper song, ‘Let Go’, and is pretty much unrelenting throughout. There are some people who will absolutely love this album for exactly this reason but it can be a bit much when it’s all in your face and glossy but they have at least attempted to address this balance with a few lower-key ballads, so minor kudos there.
For a band without a keyboard player, there’s a lot of keyboards and synth going on here and I’m not sure what to make of it. At times it definitely adds something to the sound (e.g., ‘All or Nothing’) but sometimes it just serves as an unnecessary distraction (e.g., ‘Irreversible’). I’m sure they had fun playing with their new toy though but will maybe use it more strategically next time. The actual music on the album is actually pretty good if we ignore this. There’s a spattering of solid guitar solos, the drums are well structured and the bass lines are fairly well formed, if not a bit overshadowed by the rest of the music in terms of levelling. Basically, after listening to this album umpteen times, I still have no idea what I think about it. All I know is that I either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Self-released
Album
BRAND NEW BREED
Review by Siân Williams
RUNNING TIME:
57:53
RELEASE DATE:
28th May 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Wake Up Call; 2) Let Go
3) Live Free or Die; 4) Trouble
5) Only a Dream
6) All or Nothing
7) Feed on Me; 8) Irreversible
9) Suffer
10) Romance is Dead
11) Star Eyes
12) Brand New Breed
13) Waking the Dead
14) Follow Your Instincts
3) Live Free or Die; 4) Trouble
5) Only a Dream
6) All or Nothing
7) Feed on Me; 8) Irreversible
9) Suffer
10) Romance is Dead
11) Star Eyes
12) Brand New Breed
13) Waking the Dead
14) Follow Your Instincts
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"...almost every song seems to be written and recorded as if it’s a classic, which as with most things about this band is both a good and bad thing."
