When it comes to pop orientated hooks with a slight punky attitude you can’t go far wrong than this new release from Argonaut – not a band I knew anything about when I pressed play but on this occasion when I combine the term punk with pop I don’t mean it in a Sum 41 way, but the album is full of polished synths with a more jagged guitar sound to stop it from becoming too perfectly formed.
There are a couple of tracks in particular that stand out near the beginning of “Try”, the albums opening number “TV” with its shouted male backing vocals complimenting the sweet female voice of Lorna’s natural voice and “You Guys” which sounds somewhere between the production of Shirley Manson/Butch Vig’s Garbage and that of early 90’s Portsmouth band the Cranes.
The latter comparison comes about from the child-like innocence of Lorna’s vocal style, whilst the Garbage match is more the electronic touch on the drums and the effects used for the sweeping guitars. Then there’s an eighties feel during the instrumental “Theme” and counting song “Seven” may come across a bit of an album filler but it’s still annoyingly catchy, again falling back to the pop side of the bands influences.
Argonaut slow it down for “Yawn” and the simplistic “September” with the second half of the album being more reflective of the bands self-titled debut, which again if you like the melodies of the eighties without sounding like your stuck in a time warp is also worth checking out.
With a handful of remix versions available for tracks from both albums and a trip to church for an acoustic recording session Argonaut are certainly up for giving things more than just a try… and so far, it seems to be working.
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