Album Review: Pop Singles - All Gone

Pop Singles' debut LP starts all aflutter with Tam Matlakowski's bright guitars and yearning vocals, Ashleigh Wyatt's forever-bounding drums and Peter Bramley's bass lines that wander and tumble in Hold You Tight. The guitars sound a bit like The Smiths. Vocally and lyrically the comparison rides too, the sweet melodies form a pretty facade but a solemness cuts through: “I see your eyes and I start to wonder/if all our dreams are shooting stars/just left to die alone”. Title track All Gone continues with the theme: “It's all gone/there goes the dream/it's not wrong/it's not right/it's nowhere in-between” sings Matlakowski, and it reads bleakly, but it's not, as it's delivered with a sweet air of moving forward: more blood-letting than bleeding. 

Are You Still There? features gorgeous guitars and a some catchy vocal hooks, with a bass part that is highly complementary to the song – a common trait throughout the album. Overcast has a golden guitar intro that strides up through the frets with delicacy and purpose to begin a great tune. The jagged, fuzzy riff in Always Away is reminiscent of the grungey, gazey goodness of My Bloody Valentine, with interesting chords that sound almost out of tune, ending in a squall of feedback and cymbals.

They are mostly short songs, with nine of the 11 tracks clocking in at less than three minutes. Pop Singles indeed. The overall production may lack depth – some backing vocals here and there wouldn't go astray, and at times things just sound a bit unpolished  – but this lo-fi aesthetic may be just what they are striving for. Most of all, the album shows a refined sense of songwriting; music and lyrics are thought-out and heartfelt. It's a promising collection of songs from a talented young band sounding comfortable together.