Debut from acoustic band
The debut from How to Cure Dyslexia entitled 'The Tempo of Bicycles and Boats' was recorded in the space of a week, at Kings Cross gallery Spaceshift. The studio was left open to the public, which saw onlookers and occasional participants being involved in the process. Sadly, it seems this fact may well be the only remarkable thing about How to Cure Dyslexia. This is an album that seems to slip all too easily between the cracks. It is neither horrifyingly bad or life affirming, it merely is, making it nothing beyond average.
The soft and laidback 'Close Your Eyes' opens the album and lulls the listener along on its brief journey. 'Little Else' has more of a storytelling style, with observations about the mundane activities of strangers coupled with the protagonist's musings on regret. The album encompasses a reasonable variety of instruments like a ukulele, and tries more jaunty melodies alongside more lacklustre ones, but none really ignite or manage to achieve being either catchy or memorable.
Perhaps the main failing here is that the album is too ambitious in its scope, particularly for a debut on a seemingly modest budget. Many jackets are tried on here but the fact that none of them fit well is ignored in favour of trying to be ambitious. There are moments when the laidback folk style shows promise, but ultimately How to Cure Dyslexia may find that they are forgotten amidst a heap of similar hopefuls.