Singles

Gamble Gamble - They’re All Wrong

Helen Newbery 07/03/2008

Rating: 3/5

Worcester's Gamble Gamble are apparently purveyors of Clatterpop. However, the opening song on their EP 'They're All Wrong', 'We Might Have A Problem' sounds more like fairly generic jangly indiepop circa 1989. 'Stones' is a bit more interesting, with its stopstart staccato bassline overlaid with a razorsharp sneer: “she's a mother of pearl, you're a conflict diamond”. 'Animal Songs Aren't Dead' meanders along with a funky beat and not much else…and then, just as things are getting boring, surprises with an intense, almost post-rock wigout. Then with closer 'Attention! Bandits' they've lost it again, and it's all mouth and no trousers as the most interesting thing about the song is its title.

Although normally I would applaud a band for employing a diverse range of influences and styles, in this case the end result just feels unfocused, as if the band haven't yet found their voice. There's a soupçon of early Joy Division, a pinch of Ian Dury, and the whole thing is filtered through any number of generic mid-nineties indiebands. I'd still file them under “vaguely interesting”, as they sound as if they have the potential to produce something truly groundbreaking. However, sadly, this isn't it.