Underground Railroad - Watch and Play

  by Neil Palmer

published: 21 / 4 / 2007

Label: One Little Indian
Format: CDS

intro

Formulaic pop punk from new French trio Underground Railroad, rectified by its more promising B sides

We’ve heard this kind of thing oh so many times before, right down to the screaming feedback intro/finale. The lead track is formulaic, thrashy guitar driven power pop, reminiscent of that thankfully short-lived period a few years ago when boy bands went all punky, but served up as (in)credible avant-punk. Distorted guitars and live sounding drums create a triumphant, cock-sure noise, but there’s no real substance, or originality in the lyric, to hang on to. The best bits are the sneering “yeah, yeah” backing vocals on the choruses. Which is all a bit of a shame really because the other three tracks on the EP, while obviously derivative of this Parisian trio’s heroes, Sonic Youth, Black Flag etc., hint at something worthwhile emerging. File under ‘early days - still looking for an original voice’.

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