Here's the reviews. A pretty tight run thing between TVAM and The Backseat Lovers with the former just edging it.
Andy
Palaye Royale - Lovely stuff. A shameless tribute to MCR's Black Parade 8
TVAM - Anne and Nick have come a long way. Cracking shoegazey sonic landscapes 7.5
The Backseat Lovers - Nice enough Radiohead/Bon Iver vibes. Maybe a bit twee at times 6.5
Sobs - Bebadoobee sounding sweet indie pop that evokes the likes of Lush while also turning in a Pachinko hall (do they have them in Singapore or am I being racist?) freakout on Friday Night 7
TotW - Fever Dream
David Holmes - I'm a big fan of Holmes' soundtrack work, especially for Soderbergh, but hadn't listened to an album of his. This is good stuff, always interesting and the features are good, particularly Bobby, which sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to see which Primal Scream albums Holmes produced, but as far as I can tell it's just 2 tracks on XTRMNTR 7.5
Simon
Palaye Royale: all a bit cheesy and overblown imo, with unnecessarily screechy vocals - definitely not up my strasse. 5
TVAM: more than a hint of Chemical Brothers, to my ears - a couple of tracks don't particularly go anywhere but otherwise it's chock-full of towering dark synth bangers. 8
Backseat Lovers: definite Radiohead vibes as Andy mentioned, but bar a couple of C&W-style tracks most of it is excellent - Silhouette and Know Your Name are TotW contenders. 8
Sobs: lightweight and throwaway indie pop - although it does have a certain charm - and the mid-track switch to frenetic d&b in Friday Night was inspired. 7
David Holmes: apparently recorded during a NY heatwave, and it sounds like it - an eclectic brew of dirty beats, squelchy electronics and '70s funk, with jittery vocals adding to the edgy atmosphere. Intoxicating stuff, the soundtrack to the greatest heist movie never made. 8.5
TotW: TVAM - Double Lucifer
Guy
Palaye Royale: There were a couple of points where I thought I was listening to Austria's Eurovision Entry but for the most part it was reasonably catchy stuff. Nothing particularly new here but nonetheless enjoyable. I'd listen to this again and / or watch them at a Festival - 7
TVAM: Simon's spot on with the Chemical Brothers link. This does have lots of similarities with it's big beats and industrial sound. I thought this was great and was really surprised how few listens it's had as the quality is right up there - 7.8
Backseat Lovers: Another good album. As I said originally, it reminds me of Airbourne Toxic Event with it's symphonic sound and strong bass lines. A good find - although possibly lacks some standout bangers. 7.5
Sobs: I do like the girly indie pop (a la Fickle Friends etc), so this was bound to do alright with me. It's certainly nothing new though. First Singaporean band we've listened to though which expands our geographical reach... 7
David Holmes: It's OK but for me feels disjointed. 69 Police is a banger mind - 6.5
TotW: TVAM - Future Flesh
Erol
Palaye Royale - lots of big, rounded rock tracks, laced throughout with a touch of glam rock/rock opera. The powerful angsty vocals work perfectly. Hints of Yungblood, NB Thieves and Bring me the Horizon. And yes Andy, I totally hear the MCR comparison. (Btw, Welcome to the Black Parade is an awesome track). My favourite album for quite a while. Would like to go and see these guys. 8.9
TVAM - the vocals are a bit too dreamy but that’s made up for by the creative industrial-electro sound that this bunch put out. An all-round solid effort. 7
The Backseat Lovers - nice. It’s a bit patchy in parts and some of the songs could do with tightening up but overall, this hit my sentimental sweet spot. Reminds me of the War on Drugs with a smattering of King of Limbs-style Radiohead. These guys have lots of potential. 7.8
Sobs - cutesy, baby indie rock, sung by a girl who sounds almost too young to be allowed out without her parents. I found the switch to DnB on Friday Night jarring. Nothing to set the world alight here. 5
TOTW - it has to be Fever Dream by PR.
Jim
Palaye Royale 6
Got my bands mixed up earlier in the week. Was less impressed with this, Pretty vanilla for it's ilk and a tad overblown at times.
TVAM 7
An interesting mix of psychedelic electronica, if a little chaotic. I went back to it a couple of times thinking I would get into more, and whilst there is that clear nod to the CB's, I never really warmed to many tracks. Suffered as well as still have PVA fresh in my mind, and also reminds of how frickin awesome CB's are at this.
The Backseat Lovers 8
Defo my album of the week and a real grower. Agree with previously mentioned influences. I'll add a sizable dash of Kings of Leon, but the variety and melodies reminded most of Car Seat Headrest, none more so than my TOTW Growing/Dying just ahead of equally classy Close Your Eyes. Great stuff
Sobs. 5.5
Pretty forgettable indie pop
David Holmes 8
Some of this is absolutely brilliant (take a bow 69 Police), and a few I recognised but never attributed to him. I used to love this big beat / trip hop back in the day and this was a nice trip down memory lane. Shame there is less of it coming out these days, or maybe I'm outta touch.
Justin
Palaye Royale - easy listen. Some big tracks like Paranoid. 6.8
TVAM - big electronic beats. Several possible TOTW.
The Backseat Lovers - Radiohead lite with some odd songs sounding like late Wonderstuff. 6.9
Sobs - indie landfill not unpleasant but nothing standout 5.9
David Holmes - never listened to this before. Some good tracks but some a bit dated now. 7
TOTW - TVAM - Shallow Ends
Sam
Palaye Royale : gothy, sleazy rock yes please . 8.2
TVAM: dark , brooding yet fully alive . 7.4
Back seat lovers : parts of this were absolutely gorgeous. Def want to see them live . 8
Sobs : polished S pop ! Perfectly ok . 6.6
David Holmes : it’s a soundtrack so not all brilliant but still good and 69 Police as fupping awesome . 7.5
Tune of the week : many contenders but Fever Dream by Palaye Royale will do very nicely
Mark
Palaye Royale - a bit silly, but not the worst of this kind of thing we've had. I want a really great proper goth band to come along, but this wasn't it - 6
TVAM - I really liked this, although thought it was less C Brothers and more baggy/psych World Of Twist, Paris Angels early 90s throwback, with a bit of a WMC for good measure. Would maybe even have gone half a point higher if there'd been a little more variety to it - 8
Back Seat Lovers - thought I'd like this more after seeing others' reviews, seemed to have my kind of influences, but other than a bit of CSHR it kind of meandered without ever really taking off. I could be wrong on this one, but only had time for one listen - 6.5
Sobs - some nice Weezer / Avril Lavigne bubblegum pop, but the vocal was a bit grating after a while - 5.5
TOTW - Piz Buin by TVAM
Matt
Palaye Royale - a couple of stronger tracks like Fever Dream saved this from being emo/goth landfill/recycling. 5
TVAM. Some big tracks here. Bold confident electro rock. 7
Back Seat Lovers. I couldn't take to this . Tedious. 4
Sobs. Ignore all the other reviews this is perfect indie pop: catchy hooks, overloaded guitar, spikey lyrics but with toyches if genius. Friday Night's breakdown sums up an actual Friday night perfectlt. Loved, loved, loved it. You need this album in your life. 8.5.
TOTW Air Guitar Sobs (booking my ticket to Singapore now)
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