Another day, another demo here at punktastic towers. This time it is Pixelface who come under close inspection. ‘You have selected… no’ is the first recorded output from a band that have only been together for a short time.
Pixelface play a brand of music that could be fairly herded into the skate punk category. Catchy, fast-paced and melodic songs are the order of the day on this four-track demo. Immediate reactions from this ten-minute effort were promising. The first thing that struck me was that the band know how to pen a decent song. You can be the best musicians in the world – but if your song structures are poor you are never going to get anywhere. Other aspects that were encouraging were the lead vocals (although due to the expected quality of the recording they were sometimes too low in the mix), and the fact that the band have in their midst a very impressive bassist.
Kicking off with ‘Nostalgia’, Pixelface show decent form from the start. This is a track that showcases what the band are all about – a slow starting effort that bursts into a driving punk rock song. ‘Applecore’ follows up with more of the same, with the same attention to melody and some great bass lines. ‘Victim/Bully’ is probably the worst song on this demo – it starts badly and never really goes anywhere. Luckily, things are picked back up again with ‘Wish I Could’, a track that proves to be a rousing finale.
Pixelface are a long way from the finished product, that’s for sure, and they won’t exactly set the world on fire with this demo. However, what is most important for any band at this stage is to prove they have potential for the future. Pixelface certainly do. This four-track demo proves that the band already have most of the ingredients they need to get better and better. ‘You have selected…no’ is a solid starting point – experience and more time spent as a band will hopefully see Pixelface‘s next recorded output being even stronger.
Mark