Middle of the road pop/rock is a trend that will probably never die, and that’s okay as long as its modern disciples at least have the crafty knack of writing a good chorus. The Fray, the Script, OneRepublic, Maroon 5; the list goes on. These bands all throw their emotions at the palette, whilst maintaining a degree of instrumental restraint i.e. it’s all a little bit bland and unimaginative.
But there’s hooks alright, boy, are there hooks. Australian act St Leonards self titled debut definitely has a crack at this brimming market, but somewhere along the line, they completely forgot to bring the hooks with them.
Of the ten tracks here, most of them are virtually indistinguishable with very little variation. Shane Fritsch’s vocals sound a lot like nobody in particular, and their religious use of the four chord, 4/4 pop format would be a little more enticing if they simply threw a minor chord or key change in every now and then. Even the manufactured X-Factor dross understand that.
So the redeeming features of this album? Well, nothing about it is necessarily terrible, it’s just ridiculously frustrating. Piano is laced throughout the album, but adds little depth and seems content to ‘compliment’ the predictable melodic line. The guitarist pops in for a solo every now and then ('Watch Me Burn', 'Like the Start'), which I can only conclude is what they mean by being ‘influenced by Genesis’.
For better or for worse, St Leonards doesn’t throw the listener any curveballs. Imagine a band that simply threw a Coldplay record in a blender and prayed that it produced some creative juice, and you might be close to what this album unfortunately sounded like.
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Of the ten tracks here, most of them are virtually indistinguishable with very little variation. Shane Fritsch’s vocals sound a lot like nobody in particular, and their religious use of the four chord, 4/4 pop format would be a little more enticing if they simply threw a minor chord or key change in every now and then. Even the manufactured X-Factor dross understand that.
