It has to be considered near unforgivable to include the words "They're certainly not the first to write songsââ¬Â¦ and they probably won't be the last - but infectious, rock-solid indie pop will never go out of style" in a press sheet when one's aim is to try and sell a band, not make prospective listeners sigh with disappointment before they've even heard a note. Really. Come on now. This is simple stuff here.
Sadly, what you're expecting is just what you get: solid indie pop, poorly produced indie pop at that. It would be misleading to say that the EP Forget Forget, Derive Derive bursts into life, when the term "staggers uncertainly" would be far more accurate. "Andy, Our Loss" is far from horrible - in fact, I'd describe it as above passable. But that's the problem - when the songs on this hit the mark, that mark is merely the point at which a song becomes okay rather than bad. The next two tracks can be aptly summarized in the phrase "lumpen and stodgy," while things lift once more with "Blank Mind Between The Traffic Lights," which almost crosses the boundary into the realm of catchy, entertaining pop-rock. However, even when the songwriting improves, it's let down by some pretty dire production, which places the fairly mundane guitar parts far too high in the mix, while rendering the keys near inaudible most of the time, resulting in a sludgy, awkward mess. The less said about the fifth and final track, "Can of Ashes," the better - an acoustic number so woefully inept that the band may as well not have been there - something that the terrible production makes seem highly likely.
Ultimately, The Ackleys hint that they may possess the potential to spring a few entertaining songs on the world. However, until they learn their way around a recording studio, they are left sadly bereft.
