Review Summary:
Filled with deliciously catchy singles and not a single filler, this is an infectiously delightful album.
It’s never a good omen when a band, especially a British band, come from absolutely nowhere to release two sensationally catchy, fun singles, and then start promoting an album, all within the space of a few months. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s admirable when a band wants to get things done, and it’s not necessarily a bad trait, after all so far it has worked wonders for the Arctic Monkeys. The main problem I have is that on so many occasions, new bands seem to release their two or three best tracks, to then release an album full of ***. Further questions are raised when said two singles happen to be the first two tracks on the album. This is where The Pigeon Detectives come in. Having released the single’s “I Found Out” and “Romantic Type” the boys from Leeds seemed almost rushed to bring out debut album “Wait For Me” and in doing so, scared off many of their potential market. However unlike so many other bands, and many names spring to mind, The Pigeon Detectives seem to have found the formula for making an album filled with so many likable songs, without once becoming boring.
As stated earlier, the album kicks off with the first two singles, each of which is filled with energy and a catchy chorus. “I Found Out” is the superior of the two songs, and in fact is one of the highlights of the album, the incessant backing vocals may at first seem annoying, but upon more listens you’ll find yourself idly humming away with them, amazed that you ever hated them in the first place. Like the vast majority of British indie, this album does, at times, sound the same, and with many of the tracks seemingly borrowing off one another, this is not a diverse record. There is a difference however between tracks sounding
alike, and tracks sounding the
same, and this is where The Pigeon Detectives just about get away with it. Another thing that is striking about the album, is that not one of the tracks is bad, a select few are maybe slightly better than the others, but whether it’s the soft, lovier sound of ‘You Know I Love You’ or the more frequent guitar-centric melodies of “Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye” and “Can’t Control Myself” the middle and end of the album is on a par with the excellent start.
Vocalist Matt Bowman doesn’t once stray from his roots, and delivers a large dollop of northern England in each and every song, and while for some I’m sure this can be annoying, I for one like it. Lyrically, the songs are all pretty standard, songs about boys and girls etcetera etcetera are what most have come to expect from the genre, and The Pigeon Detectives don’t disappoint here, dishing up lines as typical as: “I found out you going out with him, You would not believe the state I'm in” in pretty much every song, and it is this, if anything, that the band need to work on most.
The Pigeon Detectives aren’t groundbreaking in any respect whatsoever; in fact they are one of the least original bands gracing the music industry today. The typical break-up/make-up lyrics have been done to death, and I wouldn’t be surprised if three chord progressions were around in the Jurassic period. The drumming is simple yet effective and the thick northern accent that Bowman possesses is characteristic of the modern British music scene. But it’s the way that they fit it all together, with a little tongue-in-cheek mischief, and a handful of pure British determination that makes this album special. Sure, half of it could have been on a Strokes album, but what’s wrong with that? The main point of this album is to have a little fun, and the album is so brimming with fun that while you’re listening to the album, you won’t worry about how similar it sounds to anything else, or how the lyrics to each song are all about the same things. In fact you won’t worry about anything, which is why this album is pure brilliance.
