This has been a really tough one to score.
I don't like this album. But I like what is on it. In small doses. It is good, catchy, bouncy and can hit a good mood spot. But as a whole album, it bores. And not the 'it's fine but nothing grabs me' kind, but actual proper 'I need to put something else on or switch this off now' kind.
They remind me of the Darkness, remember them? Not musically. But in the sense their 'freshness' is in the timing. Doing something so unoriginal and in no way unique, bordering on a tribute band, but because of a quirk of timing and context, and being sble to do it well and commit, it is actually welcome, and refreshing. Exactly like, Oasis, for example. Or that other tributey band that Bimbo likes, forget their name, the Led Zeppelin immitation one. Albeit both them and this lot have more musical ability and quality than Oasis, as musicians. With the right bit of marketing and image, they could be as big, maybe not as Oasis, but certainly the Darkness as a bit of a wave.
After a couple of listens, there is a bit of a hidden layer of individuality here, and parts of it feel 'current' in ways.
I know Fog has often argued how can
you rate an album where you skip songs. I have always been on the opposite end of that arguement. I don't rate an album based on how much of it is good. I rate it on how good any of it is. And this one has enough individual songs for me to like, and rate, to come back to or play on repeat. That for me is enough for more than a 6, let's go with a 6.5 here.