Five O'Clock Heroes - Bend To The Breaks (Album)
Upon receiving this album to review, as usual for me, I did some research on the band to get a bit of a background on them, their influences and just to get a taste of what they were about. While reading the information, I discovered that their influences were Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello. Not being a huge fan of either of these artists, it was with some trepidation that I listened to their album. But since it also stated that this was “a record so riddled with post-punk infectiousness, it should come bearing its own STI warning with a complimentary body-condom to boot.” I actually thought it may be something I like after all.
What greeted me was nothing like what I had expected, perhaps it was the vocalist’s voice that was not doing it for me or the fact that it sounded like there was something missing. What was need was probably some heavier drums and a bigger bass line. It really felt like it was lacking a bit of energy and that would definitely have made this album more attractive to me. I guess all in all it just needed a bigger sound! Something more like the infectious songs that had been promised me in the promo.
But I gave the album a few listens, mostly because I feel you're not always guaranteed to like every album on the first listen, even if they were your favourite band! Sometimes it takes a second or third listen for you to fall for it. Unfortunately in this instance, that was not to be the case. I was not able to get into this album at all. From the first song ‘Head Games’, right through to the end, I was hit with repetitive sounds and lyrics almost entirely throughout. Each song sounded too similar to the last.
Bend To The Breaks was sparsely recorded on their own buck in former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha’s New York studio, which may be why it somehow feels unfinished or too raw for me. Even so, I’m not normally one to dismiss trying something new, so I was willing to give it a go, hence the several listens that I gave this bad boy. But it was just not to be for me.
I guess if you like a bit of hunters and collectors or maybe the two artists cited as their influences, then you may like this more than me. But it did not endear itself to me at all.
