The Preatures

Blue Planet Eyes

Written by: LF on 10/04/2015 20:59:02

A little over a month ago the Australian pop rockers The Preatures released their debut album "Blue Planet Eyes" worldwide. Their style is one that seamlessly blends a classic rock attitude with a poppy indie style and while their recorded material might sound sweet and polished, they are reportedly more raw and energetic live, very similar to a band like Haim. However, there's a certain dark stroke to their sound which is evident from time to time on their debut and this gives their otherwise soft and rounded music just the right amount of edge.

Most of the songs on the album have very insisting rhythms and the very best of them come at the listener like little whirlwinds that will have you swooped up and grooving along in no time. Several of them prove the band's talent for writing engaging and energetic songs with catchy melodies, not least the groovy "Somebody's Talking" which provides an early highlight on the album with plenty of dynamic rhythmic breaks. Vocalist/keyboardist Isabella Manfredi utilizes her voice very well here as well as across the album as she reaches for both low and high notes with equal intensity and moodiness, with reverb effects to enhance it in just the right places.

"Somebody's Talking" is the first of a trio of very danceable songs that really kick off the album. As the second of the bunch, we have "Is This How You Feel?" for which the band understandably won a songwriting award in 2013. It evolves in a very subtle way with guitar-work that's kept on a short leash in the verses before being allowed to let rip a little more in the choruses and towards the end of the song. It also showcases the vocals of guitarist/vocalist Gideon Bensen who provides some understated but well-placed supporting harmonies for Manfredi's high-pitched vocals throughout. Finally we have "Ordinary" which is probably the only song of this album that will haunt me in the months to come simply because the simple dynamics between the dreamy, thoughtful guitar and keyboard patterns and the energized rock attitude, evident in the beats and in the vocals, work better here than in any of the other songs.

After these three songs the album slows down a bit and never really properly kicks in again even as the slower "It Gets Better" shows up late for the party near the end with another remarkable guitar riff. The band's more anonymous compositions do set a fairly high lower level for the album and they show a certain diversity in the band's songwriting capabilities while they still keep their trademark dark edge and rock 'n' roll energy. Unfortunately, they're less dynamic in their build-ups and while the band's overall sound is definitely intriguing, it doesn't come across as memorably on the majority of their songs. From what I've heard, though, it's worth it to experience The Preatures live and I have no doubt that many of their songs would work well in that setting not least due to their danceable qualities.

7

Download: Ordinary, Is This How You Feel?, It Gets Better
For The Fans Of: The Strokes, Haim, The Pretenders, Fleetwood Mac
Listen: facebook.com/ThePreatures

Release date 23.02.2015
Mercury Records/Universal Music

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