We’re always wary when bands cite deliberately dissonant influences; obviously it’s impossible to be objective about your own sound but at the same time we can’t help but see it as an attempt to simultaneously demonstrate diverse musical predilection and place your band in the ‘eclectic/undefinable’ category. So when ‘A Thousand Ships’, the new album from Norwich’s Darwin & The Dinosaur, found its way into our ear canals accompanied by a willfully wacky press release (sample: “Alan claims to have completed Google in his spare time and rounds up stray cats for rehoming”) claiming “a smorgasbord of influences range [sic] from Thrice to Fleetwood Mac” our immediate reaction was:
1) Excellent deployment of ‘smorgasbord’. 10/10.
2) So, they’re a Thrice knockoff but happen to have ‘Rumours’ in their Spotify favourites
It’s a pleasure to report, then, that this isn’t the case at all. While erring considerably closer to Dustin Kensrue’s crew than Lindsey Buckingham’s, ‘A Thousand Ships’ is actually a really interesting record for fans of the contemporary UK rock. Shades of You Me At Six and latter-period Lower Than Atlantis abound – particularly in the vocals, pleasingly lacking that Faux-merican accent that plagues so many British bands – and there’s genuine texture and dynamism here sorely lacking from many other bands operating in the genre.
It’s not all good news, though. Though it’s refreshing to hear a band who don’t try to hide their origins, it’s just a shame those sincerely-British vocals aren’t stronger. It’s not that they’re over-egged in some cockney geezer way – there’s really no affectation at all – they’re just weak. This renders songs which could be incredibly catchy – particularly opener ‘Theories’ and the appropriately-titled ‘Riff Town Population – You’ (which owes more than a small debt to Bayside’s ‘Masterpiece’) – strangely forgettable, despite some intricate guitar interplay and some genuinely interesting songsmithery.
It may well be a creative decision; one person’s ‘flat vocals’ are another’s ‘feels’ after all, and if you enjoy The Hotelier you may fare better with D&TD than we did. And let’s be clear: this isn’t a bad record by any means, merely a frustrating one. There’s rad riffs aplenty and the whole thing’s ten times more fun than many of the records that came out last year. Just needs more melodies please.
ROB BARBOUR