They may have the ideal name for a misery-laden Emo band, but at least the title of this debut album points us away from Fall Out Boy territory.A Singer Must Die are in fact French duo Philippe Le Guern and Manuel Ferrer, although if their Gallic origins encourage Air or Daft Punk comparisons then you’d best put those out of your mind, too. If you’re looking for an image to conjure them up, try The Beautiful South covering The Smiths instead. With a French accent.
Opener ‘The Fallow Land’ is as slow and mournful as you’d expect, although the pace does pick up (slightly) with the likes of ‘The Crash’ and the decidedly non-French sounding ‘Croydon Road’. It’s in their slower, more mournful numbers that they’re at their strongest, though, and there can surely be no more depressing title than album closer ‘In A Hovel’. Unfortunately every so often a clumsy lyrical moment will clunk into place just as they begin to soar, or Manuel’s accent will struggle with the English vowel sounds, dragging the songs down to a mundane level again. There are some moments of real sparkle, but with no single tune escaping their shortcomings it’s ultimately an unsatisfying experience. Maybe they should have been an Emo band after all.