There’s a fair amount of buzz currently surrounding sibling duo The Bots, with a growing number of websites, magazines, and radio stations all lining up to declare them ‘the next big thing’. Their post-punk inspired take on garage rock and cross genre appeal has seen them support bands as diverse as Refused, Dropkick Murphys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Blur.
Unfortunately, neither ‘Ubiquitous’ nor ‘Blinded’ are the attention grabbing starts that you might expect. The fuzzy guitar riffs that are intended to drive each song forward lack originality, and any bite is taken away by the deliberately lo-fi sounding production. ‘Won’ adds in touches of upstroked guitar and piano, but with the exception of a few fleeting moments of interest it initially seems that The Bots are happy to stick to a formula that doesn’t allow much room for variation.
Thankfully, lead single ‘All I Really Want’ is where ‘Pink Palms’ really starts to come alive. The combination of the fast-paced spoken word vocals and quicker rhythm show the creativity that was sorely lacking earlier. It’s a great example of the what The Bots are capable of producing and marks the start of a definite upturn in quality.
‘All Of Them’ stands out as it carries a summery musical vibe that is nicely offset by the somewhat melancholy delivery of the vocals but it’s ‘Alanna’ that is by far the most imaginative song on the album. The simple repetition of the title during the chorus and the accompanying hand claps provide a much needed hook that was sadly lacking earlier.
Therefore, it’s a shame that just as ‘Pink Palms’ starts to hit its stride, ‘Ethiopia’ returns to the standard garage rock pattern of the first few tracks. After the much improved set of songs that came before it, it’s a definite step backwards. And just as ‘Pink Palms’ failed to start with a bang, so it fails to end with one too as ‘Side Effects’ takes too long to get going and doesn’t reach the heights that it needs to.
Ultimately, it’s the fact that the strongest songs are buried in the middle that holds ‘Pink Palms’ back. Whilst a number of songs demonstrate how talented The Bots are, their début album remains a frustrating and uneven listen that isn’t helped by an approach that at times tips the balance in favour of style over substance.
CHRIS HILSON