Albums

Shy Child - Noise Won't Stop

Robert Macpherson 18/05/2007

Rating: 3/5

Picture the scene. You're eight years old, it's Christmas morning and you've just galloped down the stairs to finally reveal what excitement has been lying there under your tree. Three hours later and the majority of your lacklustre presents remain, opened and abandoned, in the living room while you have retreated to your bedroom with your Sega Mega Drive, the one present you knew you were getting anyway. You can't help feeling that Santa has sold you short. Fast-forward a decade or two later and you'll find Shy Child have pulled off the same trick.

The New York duo kicks off promisingly with the dangerously catchy single 'Drop The Phone'. In terms of the current indie scene it ticks all the boxes; electro synths, jumped-up vocals and a beat so danceable it may as well be hijacked straight from Koko's dance floor. One can see why Shy Child are finally, on their third attempt, making waves this side of the Atlantic.

The album continues, never deviating far from its formula of merging hip-hop-esque beats with fuzz-box dance riffs despite the best efforts front man Pete Cafarella to break the mould they themselves have set. 'Kick Drum' is a clear illustration of the band's unabashed hip-hop influences with Pete practically breaking into a rap mid-verse, 'The Volume' at times resembles a 21st Century update of Talking Head's post-punk sound, whereas any 80's pop band would be impressed with Pete's keytar soloing skills exhibited throughout the album. Shy Child succeed in never sounding minimalist, a common trait with two-piece bands, but they do alas suffer from another common two-piece trait, monotony.

At the end of the day, 'Noise Wont Stop' is little more than a dancy, upbeat addition to your record collection, and one that would border on forgettable were it not for the pop perfection of its opening track. The initial shine soon wears off though, lost under a pile of wrapping paper and polystyrene. What the hell kind of present is a keytar anyway?