Noise Annoys Simon’s lead singer Simon Bish at one point played with early 90’s favourites of John Peel, Thrilled Skinny, so this twelve track debut album from the Exeter based four-piece comes with some pedigree.
This is a bit of a lo-fi, guitar based indie-pop fest, with the one big drawback being that all twelve tracks are so similar in style that after the thirty-three minutes playing time, I was left with no immediate recollection of any particular track. They all seemed to have merged into one big collective memory.
That said it was a very pleasant memory. Nice and relaxed. Summery. In fact if you fancy an upbeat, but also dreamy album that will evoke thoughts of long, lazy days in the British countryside / seaside, then this is definitely what you’ve been waiting for. The ‘Soundtrack to you Summer’ I guess.
‘You Say It, I’ll Know It’ is full of jangly guitar, shuffling beats and hushed, relaxed vocals. Although it does not bow to current fickle musical trends, it is the kind of music that will still appeal long after today’s ‘flavour’ has been exhausted. That said it does take much influence from bands of the past. If you think of Teenage Fanclub and the LAs getting together with The Mock Turtles for a couple of ciders, then you’ll not far away from the overall feel on this album. (That’s not bad though, is it?)
For all I said that the tracks seemed to blend into one, there are a few that stand out. ‘Postal Mistress Fantasies’ (perhaps because it seems to be a bit ‘louder:’ more rocking – but still within the parameters described. ‘Haybales And Vapour Trails’ conjures up vivid images of cloud watching on a hot summer’s day, and ‘Heart Shape Sky’ is a lovely, soft and dreamy, melodic acoustic based track.
My favourite though is ‘Hanging Rock Climber’ – perhaps because it reminds me so much of The Mock Turtles. There is a nice transition between the verses and chorus with strong backing vocals and a more powerful feel to the guitar work. The chorus has an excellent hook, and I would expect this to be a ‘live’ favourite. There seems more ‘depth’ to this track.
Interestingly, the opening lines of this song contain the lyrics: “it’s a thrill to take risks.” And perhaps that’s just what is missing from this album. Good as it is, there’s no telling how much better and memorable it could have been had some ‘risks’ been taken.
