Labels: Animal Style Records
Review by: Bob Alderdice
It’s fair to say I was quite disappointed with this. There’s quite a lot of good pop-punk floating our way across the Atlantic at the moment, but sadly this isn’t it.
I’m not sure what the intention is with this release. Reading the press info, it seems like the band are trying to give an insight into their diverse “mix’ of styles. Sadly though, that turns out to be their downfall.
After a slow start, the opening track shows promise, building to a point where the dual male / female vocals give way to the type of anthemic, sing-a-long moments which seem to make Iron Chic so ridiculously popular. But then, after that, they never really seem to go anywhere with it. It’s followed by a fairly average pop-punk song with female vocals and a couple of acoustic tracks. Nowt special, really. It’s all a bit anti-climatic.
It’s not that I’ve got anything against acoustic songs, or bands playing different styles for that matter. It’s just that, as a purist, I think a 7” should be your strongest material. You can save the poncey stuff for track 11 on the album.
Mixtapes do offer promise though, and I’m sure that if you’re into Iron Chic or Lemuria (lazy comparisons I’m sure) you’ll probably find something here that you enjoy.
For me though, there just doesn’t seem to be any cohesive style behind this release, and as a snapshot of what Mixtapes have to offer, I’m far from overwhelmed. It seems like they just haven’t quite decided where they sit yet. Maybe when they do, there’ll be some better stuff to come.