‘Dreamy, ethereal and melodic’ goes the official line that promotes the debut offering from this Scottish trio that includes Andy Murray, a music business veteran who can count ELO and Wolfsbane amongst those on his collaborative CV to date. Murray is the songwriting force behind the trio’s creative output, which goes all-out for popular appeal in a late 1980’s way without moving too many mountains.
Sample-laden sonic epic-in-the-making ‘Dream Frequency’ throws a combination of punches from both speakers, but is over-reliant on the cut-and paste essence of itself (in other words there’s nothing much save the sample thread that runs through the song).
‘Breathe You In’ benefits from a more human touch, but the strings are still produced to a fine sheen, polished to leave no trace of the song’s original raw power.
Elsewhere, the pop appeal shines undoubtedly through tracks like the rolling, uptempo ‘Touching What’s Divine’ (a track that forgoes the big chorus at the decisive moment in favour of a search for something deeper) and the less assertive ‘Postcard From My Heart’, where the effect is admittedly understated, but the huge intent is still unmistakable (check the massive, increasingly cheesy ‘rock-by-numbers’ solos that are inherent in the track’s progression).
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On the positive side, the vocals are often brimming with native charm, with just enough accent there in the singing to give it appeal.
‘It’s Not Love’ sounds grown-up and accomplished despite taking to the middle-of-the-road with dad-like enthusiasm (those Gary Moore comparisons hold firm alright), but often (as in the case of ‘Better Way To Fail’), it’s them, us, you, the listener, the band – everyone – that hits the brick wall together as dead ends are crashed into with swift arrival. Headless chickens are also counted in a collection which heralds itself with plenty fanfares, yet ultimately fails to deliver despite the presence of two or three solid tracks.
All in all, there are eight songs, with two remixed to make ten tracks overall. Mums and dads may love this, whilst hip dudes will take a step back before approaching with caution.
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