Hard to fall in love with.
Kubichek!
I bet it's a name that you're familiar with. Perhaps it's the Eastern European sound of the name, perhaps it's the exclamation mark at the end but it's a band name that has seemed omnipresent in the music press in the past few years. However, on starting to review this record it dawned on this writer that not a single note of their music had been heard. It seems strange that a band who has been working hard touring and being mentioned by a lot of other bands would slip under the radar but there you have it.
And on first listen, whilst the album is good, the reason why isn't that hard to fathom out. It's a tight record, its well played and it has a range of songs so it doesn't drag one way or another. It just sounds like a lot of other bands and there doesn't appear to be the killer track or two to batter the opposition into submission.
Perhaps it's the Geordie roots, the breathless energy of 'Roman Is Better' or the general way the vocals spill over each other in an attempt to get more words out but there are a few similarities to Maximo Park in Kubichek! That may not be viewed as a bad thing, they're a popular band with a few quirks but when they have just released their own second album, the timing isn't the best to come out like them.
It's the sound of the disenchanted youth or the angry young men, ranting and railing about the problems in their home town and their city streets. Its what young new guitar bands do best and you cant fault the band for having the energy and spark to try and break away from what they deride but its just hard to gather much enthusiasm for the tales they tell. Perhaps its an age thing or a culture difference but its repeated over and over on this record and it just stalls slightly.
In trying to pick out highlights or interesting sections from the record, there are lots of likeable instances, the spectral guitars on 'Start As We Mean To' or the sniper-like drums on 'Stutter' are worthy of note but at times there are flashbacks of Shed Seven and you lose a bit of respect for the album.
The word perhaps has been used far too much in this interview and on reflection, that can only mean that whatever Kubichek! are trying to get across isn't getting across to this reviewer. Sorry guys, theres nothing wrong with the record, its heart is in the right place and the music kicks and screams in the right places...it just doesn't have anything different about it to make it lovable.