UK debut from Maltese band.
Maltese trio Beangrowers release their UK debut 'Dance Baby Dance' after comparisons to Blondie and Joy Division and are hoping to build a fan base outside of Malta, where they have already released two albums. Opener 'The Farewell Party' comes off as somewhere between a more melodic Pretty Girls Make Graves met with anthemic guitars. 'You Are You Are' tries too hard to be memorable and instead just becomes repetitive and grating. Things improve with the softer 'Waiting', which showcases the pleasant voice of Alison Galea, with the vocals complimented by the low-key guitars.
'The Priest' has a stomping melody but is weakened considerably by poor lyrics repeated over and over, making the five-minute running time feel like a week spent listening to nothing else. The title track sees another change in tempo with the electro-tinged dancing anthem, the appropriately titled 'Dance Dance Baby'. 'Russian Boulevard' is a more guitar heavy song with dirty riffs but does little to distinguish itself from its predecessors and 'Star in Monaco' runs a similar path. By its chorus 'I Like You' is catchy enough to remember and could easily be a hit for the band and features suitable lyrics of rock n' roll excess.
'Waltz' is the more downbeat affair that the title anticipates and attempts to be an emotive song although again it is defeated thanks to weak lyrics, here the likes of "I'm not waiting, my heart is aching" is nothing that hasn't been expressed hundreds of times before.
Overall 'Dance Baby Dance' is an easy listening experience and does feature some infectious tunes. However the band have spread themselves too thinly by trying on too many musical personas and the lyrics verge on bad for much of the album. Regardless, with the right promotion the band could appeal to fans of female fronted rock-pop as Beangrowers are easily accessible and have many of the correct ingredients.