Impure Thoughts- ‘Lights Ahead’
This is “garage rock from Scotland” according to the website of the now Berlin-based Impure Thoughts, although their regular performances at various country music festivals around the globe might suggest otherwise.
To my ear, The Thoughts play it very safe with traditional ‘verse-lead-chorus lead-verse-big self indulgent lead to finish’ song structures. Song number one on this album sampler, ‘Take on the World’, is reminiscent of a more lacklustre Teenage Fanclub with its jangly guitars and obscured half Scots, half Americanised vocals.
‘Please Kill Me’ kicks off like Status Quo and doesn’t get much better. It’s hard to make out whether this lot are striving for deadpan or are just genuinely devoid of emotion, but either way it makes for an instantly forgettable listening experience.
Closer ‘Before You Go’ shows up some pretty weak lead vocals and run of the mill harmonies and lead guitar which, while technically spot on, does little to lift the melody.
Maybe I’m missing something vital, so if you fancy making up your own mind ‘Take on the World’ is released as a single on 6th November, closely followed by the album ‘Lights Ahead’ on the 13th. Or if you happen to be at a (very) loose end in Edinburgh or Aberdeen, you can catch them live at Subway or Café Drummond on Friday and Saturday respectively.
By Annie McLaughlin
To my ear, The Thoughts play it very safe with traditional ‘verse-lead-chorus lead-verse-big self indulgent lead to finish’ song structures. Song number one on this album sampler, ‘Take on the World’, is reminiscent of a more lacklustre Teenage Fanclub with its jangly guitars and obscured half Scots, half Americanised vocals.
‘Please Kill Me’ kicks off like Status Quo and doesn’t get much better. It’s hard to make out whether this lot are striving for deadpan or are just genuinely devoid of emotion, but either way it makes for an instantly forgettable listening experience.
Closer ‘Before You Go’ shows up some pretty weak lead vocals and run of the mill harmonies and lead guitar which, while technically spot on, does little to lift the melody.
Maybe I’m missing something vital, so if you fancy making up your own mind ‘Take on the World’ is released as a single on 6th November, closely followed by the album ‘Lights Ahead’ on the 13th. Or if you happen to be at a (very) loose end in Edinburgh or Aberdeen, you can catch them live at Subway or Café Drummond on Friday and Saturday respectively.
By Annie McLaughlin
