The #1's
The Number Ones
***and1/2 out of *****
The band hails from Dublin, Ireland and may have never heard of the Portland, Oregon group but the similarities are striking and a bit detrimental to this outfit if they are looking to stake out their own turf. That said there isn't really a lot of area or new space to be found in the power pop realm and The #1's have solidly nailed all the best traits of the genre on their first effort which should be commended.
The propulsive "Heartsmash" is the first single from the band and in under 2 minutes gives you the summation of what is in store for a listener. Clanging guitars, a bassline that moves all over the track, a quick scream/drum break and brokenhearted feelings of adventure. All the songs run short showing off their energy without getting cluttered.
One issue that keeps popping up though is the vocal effects which makes the lyrics muffled. A track like "Sharon Shouldn't" has this issue as do others and having confidence in the singing while peeling back the microphone tricks would make for a better overall listen.
Picking on these issues though doesn't take away from the overall fun ride this debut album is. In fact if the worst thing you can really say about a release is that it to closely reminds of a masterpiece, things are pretty rad.
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Support the band here, buy the disk/steam it on bandcamp here and peep some video below:
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