For a band still so young, Pull In Emergency have been together for quite a few years now, and have had time to craft and establish their own sound. Having formed in school, they have been playing and getting themselves around the UK indie circuit for over 3 years, which is quite something when you take into consideration that they are all around 18 years old. But I seem to be commenting and dwelling on the increasingly small ages of bands a lot these days, and it’s no new thing – there has definitely been a bit of a teenage revolution of late, and Pull In Emergency have been in it for the long haul!
And so finally, they feel their sound is complete enough to bring us a long-player. The thing is, this self-titled debut still sounds a bit sticky, a bit immature and just a bit samey. Lead singer Faith Barker has a smooth voice that effortlessly wanders regretfully over the often lo-fi guitars and sporadic drums. But the band seem to try and run away from who they are, and fob us off with a pseudo-maturity that I’m just not getting. ‘Cold Hands’ and ‘Hold Still’ are obvious exceptions, and the latter pangs with the kind of teenage giddy lovestruck tales that I craved and expected from them. ‘Cold Hands’ perfectly blends the simple, slumping guitar progressions with enough energy and vocal melody to produce a great pop song.
They have attempted to step away from jangly indie and moved more towards a grittier, fuzzier proposition, which is a bit of a relief, as I got fed up of that twang years ago! The bass definitely excels in its new found fuzz! But the move feels a bit forced and unnecessary as if it was all done post-production, as an angsty add-on.
Ok, so it’s a debut album from a promising North London band, and they clearly have some good songs and shed loads of talent. But it feels like they haven’t really found a sound that they are comfortable and sure of yet. When you consider the other bands doing similar things right now, Thomas Tantrum, The Kabeedies, Fresh Legs, and even Fight Like Apes, it seems Pull In Emergency need to step up their game a bit if they wish to continue fighting in the same ring.
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