Review Summary: I don't wanna talk about the future
My predominant thoughts regarding Pynch’s full-length debut,
Howling at a Concrete Moon, are somewhat paradoxical - the actual songs here are frequently somewhat bland, but the album also delivers an intriguing sound which could take the band very far. Allow me to explain: the London group’s ten tracks presented here are a hodgepodge of every pop-ish indie/alt rock trend in British music from Oasis through Arctic Monkeys then blended with notable dream pop influences and a pervasive use of synths. As probably gathered by that description, it’s accessible stuff, then further bent to ingratiate the band with ennui-drenched young professionals with themes heavily reliant on general discontent with modern society and nostalgia for lost youth. Despite being someone in that target demographic, this whole approach can come across as a bit hamfisted, but there’s no denying that the straightforward vocal delivery of “gonna kick it like it’s 2009, party rock in the house all night” comes pretty near to anthemic, and that closer “Somebody Else” is catchy as hell. All told,
Howling at a Concrete Moon might just be a “pretty good” record, but it provides plenty of hints that Pynch might be on their way to better things.
