Not exactly a super-charged blast but decent indie-punk
This double A-side would go down a storm on a club night, it's got funky, chopped-up beats, chunky basslines, and demented riffs. Unfortunately for the KBC, on record it all falls rather flat sometimes. It comes as no surprised that Tom Rixton, who's worked with Placebo and Depeche Mode, produced this - it's got the same moodiness, if only the tracks stood up to the test properly.
'Pride Before the Fall' sounds like Franz Ferdinand if they were fronted by a nasal northerner, and the Coral were in charge of musical direction. Like a washing machine, the song goes round and round repeating the same tune over and again, made even worse by the fact that singer James Mulholland's voice is pretty weak, there's no depth.
Despite its bizarre lyrics, 'Poisonous Emblem' is something of a grower and if you listen to it enough you'll grow to like it. There's a scuzzy indie dance charm here that's missing on the first one, even the vocals are better.
Really, the track order is a mystery but for the first single in two years, this is a fairly decent effort.