Singles

Pint Shot Riot - Hazy Days

Dominic Valvona 06/10/2010

Rating: 2/5

Increasingly the poppier indie guitar market has become more and more densely packed; to stand out from the sheer mass of bands crowding this avenue, you need a spark or touch of individualism.

Pint Shot Riot for all their quaintly written tunes and spiky attitude, unfortunately just add to the overspill from the burgeoning MOR camp, with little to differentiate them from a zillion other groups, all sharing the same path.

The Coventry based group certainly picked up some tips and learnt some lessons from the likes of The Enemy, We Are Scientists and Glasvegas, who they've all supported at various times.

Their music even graces a whole clutch of games, from FIFA 10 to Need For Speed Nitro, giving them access to a massive audience. Trouble is, I can't help but feel I've heard all this over-egged timorous Brit-pop like music before.

'Hazy Days' (taken from the debut LP, to be released in 2011) carries a more commercially strained sound then the usual material, led by a flittering lead guitar motif, and a rhythm section that plays with an almost whimsical abandoned feel, reminiscent of The Boo-Radleys and at times The Coral. A familiar tale of life's a bitch, but its made bearable by a certain allusive young lady, who fills our narrators head, distracting from every day tasks.

The lyrics betray a certain simplicity, “Still hypnotised by your delights, you seem to take up all my time, it's the way you force me down that road, that makes me want you to be mine”, sang in a proto-laddish manner. As galloping and grimy sounding as it is, this short burst of attitude strutting pop, is highly stylized and produced for optimum success.

Also included on this single is the sharper 'Sticks & Stones', which has some gusto and is delivered with menace, yet still lacks any evocative lyrics, relying on clichés instead.

A final gesture of feedback on the end perfectly fits in with the 'boys own' school of rock rules, suggesting that this four-piece is being held back and restrained.

They shouldn't lose any sleep over my harsh words, popular as they are - selling out their home gigs effortlessly, appearing on TV and signing deals with computer games companies. But then they could just vanish into the mire of broken dreams, lost amongst the previous contenders.