Album Review: TV Snow - Red

Perth five-piece TV Snow tread that fine line in crafting indie rock that straddles pretty, washed-out guitars without pushing them out of reckoning and into tedium on their debut long-player, Red. Luckily they only nudge the bounds occasionally here and for the most part, Red is a fairly satisfying ten-track listen, with just a small shake-up in song structure needed to make it a standout.

Singer Sean Tyler is a nice reminder of the usual suspects of early- to mid-'90s indie; gentle, steady, slightly nasal and often breaking into pleasing falsetto harmonies from his mid-range vocal. You get an overarching sense of his humble capabilities and what the band is all about on opening track, Call To The Siren – it's soon awash with jangly guitar lines after a neatly clipped rhythmic intro, reining it back in towards song-end with lines that step in and around the kit. That's part of Red's success, breaking up blocks of pretty and predictable sugar-infused melodies with interesting textures and interludes. Downtown and Underground change gear to a more upbeat and brassy sound, while Plastic Painting and Game Show burrow back down and build on the dynamics. New bassist Derek Wardrobe – former bassist Ben Linden was tragically killed in a shark attack last year off the WA coast, the album title is in homage to his nickname – turns up the dials for the standout How Young, with its crisp and interestingly-shaped melodic lines.

By album-end a noticeable song structure appears – gentle meanderings that swiftly ease off and come back full bore. It's not a bad thing per se and is perhaps just a predictable idiosyncrasy from an otherwise promising new outfit.