Pandora's Box

Demo EP

Written by: PP on 14/04/2010 23:34:01

Pandora's Box is a Danish duo consisting of two 18 year old high schoolers carrying the names of Jakob Bøcher Müller and Vincent Dreyer, both of whom used to be in another Danish band called Noble Shades (now defunct). The boys consider Pandora's Box as their side project where they can experiment with different sounds and instruments as much as their heart desires, because they felt like they had to limit their ideas in Noble Shades as to suit the "big masses" better (I'm sorry but who the hell is Noble Shades!?). Their first release is called either "demo" or "Pandora's Box", I can't quite figure out which one it is, not that it really matters at this stage, and it sees the due dive headfirst into the world of experimental alternative pop.

Considering we're in experimental pop territory, it is no surprise to find familiar parallels to The Beatles on at least a couple of songs on the record. For instance, "On The Floor", albeit very minimalistic in nature, immediately made me think "gee I wonder if they listen to the less famous Beatles songs a lot", as did the acoustic guitar & midi-sound driven EP opener "This Bird". Rest of the EP slowly hums around the theme of psychedelic pop, adding in electronica elements and whatnot for good measure. At times, the honest expression on the record is so convincing that I find it difficult to believe it's just a couple of high school kids behind the songs.

That being said, Pandora's Box are still a long way from impressing me. Two out of four tracks are pretty good in terms of songwriting, but the EP overall lacks some coherency, as if the guys are still looking for their own sound. Then again, this being a demo and all, that's not very surprising, and neither is the lo-fi and annoyingly flat production (or lack thereof) that has been applied to the songs on offer here. Coupled with my notion that Pandora's Box are often a little bit too minimalistic for their own good, I find it hard to award the band more than an average mark, for now at least.

Download: Ice Heart
For the fans of: The Beatles, Syd Barrett
Listen: Myspace

Release date February 2010
Self-Released

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