I Was A Cub Scout: I Want You To Know That There Is Always Hope
Hope remains with synth-pop pair I Was A Cub Scout.
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Saturday, 16, Feb 2008 05:25
XL Recordings, out Monday February 18th.
In a nutshell.
Ethereal synth-laden shimmering emo
What's it all about?
The album kicks off with the My Bloody Valentine-esque ascending tones of Save Your Wishes, before its low budget homemade feel, gives way to Echoes, intent bristling from the snare-heavy drum intro as a brooding synth makes its swaying entrance. It seems to have lost its way before its call-to-arms chorus, while momentum is slightly abandoned with the calming meander of Lucean.
Pink Squares, one of Steve Lamacq's tracks of 2006, reminds you of the sometimes-brilliant and bewitching abilities of these youngsters. An unutterably superb bassline dominates the track, full of a swagger reminiscent of Duran Duran, and the band's full armoury is on show as drums cascade into a tumultuous bridge before a chorus whose joyous bounce belies its needy lyrics. Part III is Death Cab for Cutie-lite, though its astonishing closing minute shows the band I Was... could be in a few years. The cutesy chirps of Fisher Price electronica on We Were Made to Love could err towards being irritating and though it rolls along pleasantly, it still flatters to deceive and improved production has succeeded in making it less immediate than the raw, early demos.
Drummer William Bowerman is at his best on single Our Smallest Adventures, providing much-needed momentum to an otherwise underwhelming melody, while a Smiths-esque melancholic tone on Recommendations fails to mask the weaknesses of Marriott's voice. He's only young though.
But, oh, when the album reaches The Hunter's Daughter. It's a sound extraordinarily layered for just two people. It's bleeding heart without being mawkish, rhythmic without being a dance song and intricate without overwhelming the ears. And in its epic, grandstanding final minute, a climax that others have called "trite" but deserves to be labelled a triumph.
Ps & Qs sound like Explosions in the Sky tinkering around with a keyboard but A Step Too Far Behind is an unabashedly wholehearted closer with a gloriously transcendent outro.
Who's it by?
British synthpop emo kids I Was A Cub Scout unleash their debut album after. well, not very much time together. The youthful twosome formed in mid-2006, after William Bowerman joining on drums allowed Todd Marriott to step away from the drum machine. A steady slew of acclaimed support slots, airplay from the likes of Zane Lowe and a lauded slot on the Camden Crawl has seen them build a dedicated following and yes, to save the asking, they both were in fact cub scouts.
Previously-released singles Pink Squares and Our Smallest Adventures are included on the ten-track album though the divisive March 2007 release I Hate Nightclubs is omitted.
As an example.
"Yes, I know I'm wrong/But there are two sides to every story/Baby, we are not the same/And we will never feel the same/Oh, oh, oh, am I in trouble?/Darling, I apologise/I need you more than anything/Please come back with me tonight." - Pink Squares
"My shoulder's pretty chipped/And you're well aware of it/All is not lost." - Part III
"Maybe you'd feel better on your own/Now that's something I don't wish to know." - The Hunter's Daughter
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
MTV2 stardom remains their milieu with feet too firmly in the emo and synth-pop camps to earn either massive critical acclaim or huge commercial gain. But for a debut, from teenagers, no less, it's absolutely brimming with promise. Maybe a best new artist nod somewhere next year.
What the others say
"For the time being they are content with getting their debut off their chest. Something that will no doubt bring them a badge or two." - David McGuire, BBC
"The twinkly keyboards and glockenspiel effects are ludicrously overused as if to convey the sense that the stars are falling or some toss - it's just a shame that they didn't exercise a touch more quality control with their debut. This could have been a startlingly good EP but is instead a disappointing and, yes, somewhat lumpen album." - Ben Patashnik, Drowned in Sound
So is it any good?
Good not great. Sections of the album dazzle and the thought that these two are only just embarking into adulthood makes the album all the more impressive. While the comparisons with Death Cab for Cutie and Ben Gibbard's electronic offshoot the Postal Service are inevitable and entirely justified, it's some fairly lofty company to aim for, so the fact that Marriott and Bowerman don't let themselves down is certainly commendable.
So why's it disappointing in parts? The problem is that sometimes they produce a moment so heart-stoppingly good that it's frustrating that not every second of the album can make you so crushingly grateful for music so drenched in unashamed joy. That's to be expected from ones so young and in the stunning set-pieces of The Hunter's Daughter and A Step Too Far Behind, there's enough to suggest that this is a twosome set for great things.
Cub scouts they may be; pack leaders - not quite yet.
7/10
Lewis Bazley