Lawson - Standing In The Dark Review
rating: 3
Lawson arrived to the music scene in a moment when One Direction had monopolized the slot for a male pop band. The Wanted were also doing well, even with their permanent look of boredom (and also slight anger at being in the shadow of a newcomer, despite being older and having been around for longer). It could have seemed that the only option for male bands was to go down this route of dancing rehearsals and summer love songs, and then Lawson arrived. This four-piece band ventured their way into the music biz with a first single titled When She Was Mine, and built their image as performers by playing their instruments. It worked: the song was number 4 in the UK and it was followed by Taking Over Me, which managed a position in the top 3. Now their first EP is out, and the single chosen to promote it is Standing In The Dark, a track with a catchy melody and that is a little bit moodier than its predecessors. Die For You follows the same pattern, but the lyric content is a bit more desperate "It hurts when I breathe", they sing - and it shows in the longing vocals and the guitar solo that makes an appearance towards the end. Even though both tracks work on their own, they are just too similar, and this is noticeable specially when you listen to the EP as they come one after the other. That's why by the third track arrives, titled Getting Nowhere, it all feels a little bit redundant. The lyrical content is very similar on the three songs, as so are the melody progressions. On a first listen, you'd probably find yourself remembering the melody of 'Standing In The Dark' but not much else. The EP is completed by two acoustic versions of Standing in the Dark and Ed Sheerans The A Team, which showcases lead vocalist Andy Brown's talent as a singer. Lawson are the first new band in some time that tries the pop-rock route with commercial success. Honorary examples include bands like Busted, McFly and Tokio Hotel, all of them enjoying their biggest success during the Noughties. Tokio Hotel are probably the band that's most similar to Lawson (sans clothing style), yet McFly are Lawson's biggest threat. Though their new single 'Love Is Easy' doesn't seem to follow the moodier sound from the previous album - which would have definitely brought them closer to Lawson- they essentially share the same target audience, plus a long, successful career and a great amount of hype. When Lawson's debut album comes out in November they will have to find their place, and the music will play the biggest part. So even though it is definitely refreshing to have a new pop-rock band to add some different flavor to the charts, what Lawson needs to make sure is to follow the hype generated by their singles with something as good as, at least, and this EP doesn't feel like it. One can only hope that when the full album comes out, it'll be less same-y, something that I think is important to gain some credibility. But for now, what we've got doesn't seem enough. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsbPkZPKEuY