Press releases are sent out, in theory, to promote the band or artist that is about to do something. The expectation is gushing platitudes from which the reviewer can take away a bit of background to help flesh out the review. The idea is to implant some positive thoughts and guide you towards the plus sides of the band you are reviewing. So it came as a surprise to read that I WAS A CUB SCOUT were being marketed as an emo band, when they are so clearly not.
Or are Keane emo and no-one told me? It seems highly counterproductive to lump a new band in with a much derived genre when there is no need to do so. It's emotional rock, but it's not emo as we know it. There is no real of influence of the self-harming, life's unfair, mini-goths on this record. Hell, there's barely any emotion.
Provided a bit of office entertainment, this one. It's the IWACS challenge – whoever can listen to it for the longest amount of time without losing the will to live wins a prize. Possibly my review copy of the CD. Most people struggle beyond the second track and it's obvious to see why.
These songs sound like Keane, with a shocking after-taste of The Feeling. There are elements of Travis, Snow Patrol, Coldplay etc (the lineage of easy listening for those that don't care about music), but at least the aforementioned bands at least tried to rock in the beginning. IWACS appear to have jumped to the bit where they make vapid tunes with Virgin radio written all over them
You can see the idea – heartfelt vocals, with an emphasis on the keyboards – creating something lush and also sad at the same time. Maybe this is the emo bit. The reality is something all together less interesting. Opener 'Save Your Wishes' is soul-less and uninspired. It's just jangly twee indie. With a chorus of “Save your wishes, as they won't help you” it's a little sickening, but mainly just boring. 'Lucean' is another synth-heavy ballad which totally misses the mark and leaves you devoid of feeling.
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'Pink Squares' is the point where you realise this album isn't going anywhere. Definitely intentions of being lush and wistful here, but the ideas are truly basic and lacking any inspiration whatsoever. It's a lullaby only in as much as it's intended to make you fall asleep.
It's possible to say more about the remaining tracks, but it would be more of the same thing, and it's highly likely you've got the message by now. It's like Ooberman, but even worse somehow. They're meant to be personal love songs – calls to women who need reassuring, or calls for reassurance themselves. It's meant to be fragile and as opposed to stage-rehearsed. The seven million layers of production make it a slick album, to the detriment of any sort of response from the listener. If apathy needed a soundtrack...
The strange thing is that whilst the songs vary in speed, the pace of the vocals remains stagnant throughout, which is why the album is so dreary. There's nothing new to observe from them, which will probably make them fucking massive, unfortunately. It seems peculiar that their label have such a bland cash cow on their hands and they intend to market it to the people that should show it the most disdain. Where's the hurt? Where's the anger? Where's the EMOtion?
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