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When history looks back on The Pigeon Detectives, will they be seen as anything more significant than a These Animal Men or Shed Seven to Kaiser Chiefs' Blur? Their debut album,
Wait for Me, achieved remarkable success in the bizarre, never-ending post-Libertines vacuum with a string of undoubtedly infectious and direct bouts of rabble-raising indie-fuzz. But lining up alongside The Wombats, The View, The Enemy, Dirty Pretty Things, The Courteeners et al, minions chipping away at the same rock-face, there are gems—occasionally, of course there are--but there's also an inevitable mountain of sediment. And herein lies the problem for their typically difficult second album
Emergency. While their approach may have matured a little, with "This Is an Emergency" bouncing on the Franz Ferdinand springboard and "Keep Oo Your Dress" having a bit of an Idlewild complexion rather than just plundering and shouting over
Up the Bracket, the album has trouble lifting its head much above the parapet. "She's Gone", which has as much in common with Green Day's buffed punk-pop as contemporary UK strands, and the mid-pace Kaisers-esque "Love You for a Day (Hate You for a Week)" are perfectly affable, serviceable Britpop, but the sirens are not blaring this time. There are scattered fires, but they'll probably burn out on their own. No need to call 999.
--James Berry
Product Description
Vinyl LP pressing. 2008 sophomore album from the Britpopsters, a release filled with songs that listeners can associate with and relate to. Confident, intelligently arranged and choc-a-bloc with killer tunes, it's the sound of a band eager not to slash the ropes anchoring them to the past. It's no coincidence that an album full of such clarity and purpose came together in the tranquil surroundings of South Wales. Written and recorded in a three week blitz in the residential seclusion of Monnow Valley with uber-producer Stephen Street (Smiths/Blur) it's a vindication for those who see The Pigeon's as the most natural song-smiths of the entire Britpop boom. 13 tracks.
--This text refers to the
Vinyl
edition.
